Telekinetic
by Lady Pandora
Summary: ...All she ever wanted was to belong, all she had to do was trust... When a young woman arrives in Smallville she captures the interest of Lex Luthor. What's her story? Who is she? And why does he care so much? Lex/OC. *TBC at Wattpad*
1. Tilting At Windmills

_**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**_

_Hey guys. :) This is my 1st Smallville fic. It's completed (wrote it about 5 years back) so if y'all like it, I'll be updating every week. It's primarily a Lex Luthor story as I just adore him, evil or not and is set during the middle of Season 2, when Lionel Luthor is still blind, as I thought it would add a rather nefarious edge to the story. ;) I've tried to keep to the show as much as is possible, but I do sometimes veer off. So if there are any mistakes, sorry._

_The opening chapter has a few segments from another favorite show of mine. If you can guess, have a cookie...if you can't, keep trying. ;) I'm not sure if the opener works...but I had no idea how to start the damn story off. I just knew I HAD to. :S For all the die-hard Smallville fans, BIG sorry if it doesn't feel right. :(_

_So, aside from the opening bits and my OC - Kennedy Carpenter - I own absolutely nothing. Unfortunately. Because if I did, Lex and Chloe would be together and Lana would have died in the tornado at the end of Season 1. Kidding. :P However, _I_ would like to point out that this isn't a Chloe/Lex story. But there is definitely a whole lotta love in it, showing a softer side to Lex. Probably should also add that for the sake of the story Lex has never met/known Helen Bryce. Everything else still stands. Pete knows Clark's secret, Whitney's dead, Lionel's blind, etc., etc.,_

_Hope y'all enjoy. If so, please review - good or bad - I can take it._

* * *

Sixteen year-old Chloe Sullivan walked into the Talon just as a bunch of raucous high-school guys were on their way out.

'Whoa! Worlds collide!,' the guy in front of the pack whooped. He tried to feint around Chloe but bumped into her, practically knocking her over. She lost her balance and would have fallen if not for a pair of strong arms that caught her. Meanwhile, the guy who had almost knocked her over continued out the door without a backward glance.

'You okay?,' Strong Arms asked.

Chloe righted herself and then checked him out. His hunky arms were attached to an equally hunky torso, which was attached to a Ryan Phillippe-esque face.

'Your friend's a jerk,' Chloe told him, shaking back her short blonde layered hair.

'He's a friend of a friend,' Strong Arms said. 'My real friends are only semi-jerks.' He grinned at her. 'I'm Drew Keller. You're...?'

'Chloe Sullivan.'

'Chloe Sullivan,' he repeated, still grinning. 'I think this is what is commonly known as 'meeting cute'. So, do you live around here or - '

'Yo, Keller, let's go, man!' One of his friends had stuck his head inside the door. 'We're already late.'

'Be right there.' Drew turned back to Chloe. 'Well, I guess this is boy meets girl, boy loses girl. Anyway, I apologize for my friend of a friend.'

'Apology accepted,' Chloe said. 'Nice meeting you.' She watched him walk away. He looked just as good going as he had coming.

'As we used to so cleverly say in grade school, take a picture, it'll last longer,' Lana Lang called to Chloe as she sailed by. She carried a platter loaded with plates of mud cake and cappucinos.

'Forget it,' Chloe muttered. 'Guys that cute are dangerous.'

It had been an unusually warm summer night for Smallville, Kansas - the Meteor Capital of the World - and Chloe had been home alone, monumentally bored. So she'd driven over to the Kent farm to see what her friend Clark was up to. Clark's dad, Jonathan Kent, had been clearing out in the barn and had told her he thought Clark had gone down to the Talon.

Lana's parents had met at the old movie-theater, where her father had been working. It had stood empty for years now. When LexCorp had expressed an interest in the old building and thought it might make a rather nice multi-storey parking lot, Lana had been horrified. The Talon had been special to her parents and because of that it was special to her. Not only that, but the Talon was a part of the community, a place where friends and family once used to gather and be together. Smallville didn't need a great big, ugly multi-storey in the heart of town.

Lana had been the one that had presented her set of ideas and plans to Lex Luthor, son of multi-billionaire Lionel. She knew he was more approachable than his father was. She wanted to turn the Talon into a coffee-house-cum-book-store with room to re-open the theater too. She had worked for days on the figures and the tax rates and when she had presented the portfolio of papers to Lex, he had been very impressed and had admired her efficiency and obvious ardour in wanting to keep the place as a part of the community. It would be a little gold-mine, Lana had assured him. The money he would put into doing the place up he would reap back in less than a year's time. It was a sound business venture, that and the fact that he knew his father had expressed a brief interest in the building himself only made Lex all the more determined to out-bid him. There was no love lost between father and son. And when it came to their very separate businesses, sometimes it was just plain old all-out war.

So he had bought the building and in remaining as a 'silent partner', Lana had been allowed to keep her dream. On one condition. She had to manage the place and hire her own staff. Lex had enough on his plate ensuring the smooth running of LexCorp. And since then, Lana had proved that the place really was a little gold-mine, clearing sometimes almost two thousand dollars a week.

Lana's parents had been killed in a meteor shower that had hit Smallville back in October 1989, thirteen years before when Lana had been only three years old. Lana went to live with her Aunt Nell, who had once owned a florist next door to the Talon. She had since left Smallville for Metropolis and Lana had moved in with Chloe and her dad. The meteor shower had left scars on it's remaining survivors. And after that Smallville changed dramatically. It was dubbed 'America's Weirdest Town' and it seemed that strange and unexplainable things were always happening in the quiet, sleepy hamlet.

Although Chloe and Lana were friends now, there had been a time when they hadn't always seen eye to eye. Especially over their mutual friend, Clark Kent. Clark was gorgeous, tall, muscular, thick dark hair and blue eyes. He could easily have been a star quarterback for Smallville High but he wasn't really into sports. He liked to spend most of his time working on the school newspaper, the Torch, which Chloe was the editor of. Chloe had a major crush on Clark, although they were nothing more than good friends, as it was patently obvious that Clark was completely in love with Lana. The furtive glances and the secret smiles. Even during Lana's relationship with the school star quarterback, Whitney Fordman. Whitney had since left Smallville to join the Marines, but had been killed in action.

Chloe knew she should get over Clark. Move on. But her stupid heart refused to listen to her head. But she did try. Clark was one of the best friends she had ever had. As was Lana.

Chloe looked over at Lana, who was delivering the platter to a table of young girls. Lana was the all-american girl, fresh-looking, long dark hair and beautiful in a natural way, of which she seemed completely unaware. If she and Clark would only get their act together then Chloe could force her heart to play dead. But Clark and Lana were still no further forward in declaring their completely obvious undying love and it only confused Chloe and made her slightly impatient.

Chloe spied Clark sitting at the counter with their other best friend, Pete Ross. Any young girl walking into the Talon would look twice at those two. Clark with his dark boyish looks and Pete with his chocolate skin and cheeky grin, they were a force to be reckoned with. Chloe walked over and heard them arguing about something.

'You're completely wrong, Pete,' said Clark. 'You can't compare _Man of La Mancha_ to _Don Quixote_. It just totally trivialize's Cervantes work.'

'Sue me, I like musicals,' said Pete, swiping a french fry from Clark's plate.

'Since when?,' Clark asked incredulously.

'We all got our secrets, Clark,' Pete grinned at his friend.

'Gentlemen, can I presume the category this evening is movies?,' Chloe joked settling onto the stool next to Clark.

'Hey, Chloe,' Clark greeted her. 'Can you believe this, Pete rented the 1957 Russian version of _Man of La Mancha_ to watch tonight.'

Chloe smiled across the counter at Pete. 'And Clark's subliminating his anger with French fries because I didn't get _Don Quixote_,' he told her, a grin on his cute face.

'Any movie with subtitles should be illegal in the summertime,' Chloe shrugged. 'Too much work.'

_'Man of La Mancha_ happens to be a seminal piece of film-making,' Pete said.

'It's a musical,' insisted Clark.

'I think I can settle this little dispute,' Chloe broke in. 'It's a sultry summer night. As teenagers, it's thus our responsibility to be doing wild and sultry things.'

'In Smallville?,' said Pete with one eyebrow arched.

Chloe shrugged. 'Just an idea. But I say forget the movie. Case closed. You'll get my bill in the mail.'

'So young and yet so profound,' said Clark with a smile that made Chloe's heart race.

Lana came up behind them. 'See that table of girls I just delivered too? They just asked me where they can go to party with hot guys.'

'Hot guys, yeah, me and my boy here, we got that covered,' he said clasping Clark firmly on the shoulder. 'But parties? I repeat, in Smallville?'

Lana smiled. 'They're fourteen going on seven. And obviously not from around here.'

'This is exactly why we won't ever live in a big city,' said Chloe with a shrug. 'Just think of all the amusing fun we would miss. Small towns, you just gotta love 'em.'

'Chloe, you're from the city,' Clark gently reminded her.

Chloe and her family had moved to Smallville from Metropolis because of her father's job. Gabe Sullivan was the plant manager at Luthor's fertilizer factory. Lionel Luthor had bought the Ross Creamed Corn factory, once owned by Pete's family and it's surrounding cornfields and had turned it into the fertilizer plant. One of the many reasons why Pete himself was no fan of the Luthor's. Now, the plant was owned by Lex, after he had bought it out from under his father.

Just then one of the girls got up from the table and wandered over to them. She had long blonde hair and freckles, which she'd tried to cover with too much make-up. A lit cigarette dangled from one hand. She flashed a big smile in Clark's direction.

'Hey, what's happening?,' she asked, exhaling smoke.

Chloe waved the smoke away. 'This is the non-smoking area.'

'Whatever,' said the girl. 'Any hot parties tonight?'

'Sorry,' said Pete. 'They were all last night.'

The girl shook her hair from her face. 'This town bites. Do you guys know how we can score some beers without ID?'

'You might be a little young for that,' said Lana from behind the counter.

The girl's face turned bright red. 'You're not my mother.'

'Sorry,' murmured Lana softly. 'Just trying to - '

The girl glared hotly at Lana. 'Get a life, maybe?,' she spat and then whirled away.

'God, kids get into stuff young now, huh?,' Chloe marveled. 'At her age I was playing with Barbie dolls. And I can't believe I actually admitted that.'

'It's sad,' said Clark with a nod of his dark head. 'She's already bypassed romantic innocence and moved on to meaningless lust.'

'Sometimes lust can be pretty meaningful,' said Pete grinning.

'You know what I mean, Pete,' smiled Clark. 'Take Don Quixote for instance.' Pete immediately groaned and dropped his head on the counter. 'He loved Dulcinea so much that he only saw her as perfect and beautiful,' Clark went on undeterred. 'No matter how anyone else saw her, no matter what she did.'

'Clark, I hate to be the one to burst your romantic bubble,' came an amused, smooth-sounding voice from behind. They all turned and saw the handsome, self-assured, young bald man standing there dressed in a gray t-shirt, black jacket and pants. Lex Luthor smiled at Clark. 'But Dulcinea had sex for money. With everybody,' he added.

Lana smiled at Lex, then looked back at Clark. 'What do you have to say about that?'

'It only proves my point. To him, Dulcinea was still pure, no matter what she did,' insisted Clark.

Lex looked back at Lana and raised one eyebrow. 'What's with the Don Quixote fetish anyhow?'

Lana smiled. 'He's just a hopeless romantic,' she said and Clark smiled back at her.

Chloe caught the meaningful eye contact between her two friends and resisted the urge to sigh. 'Or maybe just plain hopeless,' she teased instead, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear.

'Tilting at windmills like Don Quixote, madly in love with love,' mused Lex.

'Tease all you like,' said Clark good-naturedly. 'I think the world needs more romance. Not less.'

'Romance makes you sentimental, Clark,' Lex told him pushing his hands into the pockets of his expensive linen trousers. 'And sentimentality is synonomous to vulnerability. My father taught me that.'

'Hear, hear. Being vulnerable can make you lose all perspective,' said Chloe with a nod.

Lana, Clark and Pete all looked at her in surprise. Normally Chloe wasn't so down when it came to love and romance. But her unrequited experience with Clark had made her a little merciless when it came to affairs of the heart.

Lex smiled. 'A girl after my own heart. If I had one to give,' he added with a drawl.

Lana looked across at Clark with a slight smile. It was no secret to any of them that in the time they had known the twenty-two year old billionaire businessman, he had never been one to get "romantically involved". He'd had girlfriends, they'd all seen them come and go up at the Luthor mansion, but they never seemed to stay for any longer than a month or two. Because of his money and his status, Lex had his hanger-ons or as his father would have them: leeches. Lex had been the typecast, rich playboy, more so during his time in Metropolis when it hadn't been unusual for him to stay out partying until six in the morning. During his teenage years he had been the typical rebellious rich-kid. And had on many occasion ended up being arrested because of his adventures, leaving his father to come bail him out. But since he had come to Smallville about a year-and-a-half back, he was a different person to the one he'd been in Metropolis.

It was also no secret that sixteen year-old Clark was a close friend of the young entrepreneur. He often spent afternoons up at the mansion playing billiards with Lex or just hanging out. Clark had gotten to know Lex Luthor and no matter what he did or said, there was a heart beneath the thousand dollar suits. He just covered it up well. Kept it hidden. More to do with his mother's sudden death and the growing distance between him and his father, than anything else. He had proved his worth when he had bought the Talon and Clark often reminded Pete when he went off on one, that if it hadn't of been for Lex, the Talon would be owned by Lionel Luthor and it would be a multi-storey. No matter what had happened to Pete's family, part of him knew Clark was right. It had been Lionel Luthor that had lied to them over the plans for the corn factory. Not his son. Still, it had been hard for Pete to see his best friend making nice with the son of the man who had ruined his family.

Clark on the other hand, had never had any reason to doubt Lex. He knew his father was no big fan of either of the Luthors, he didn't like the way they made grand promises to the local farmers and were turning a small farming community into a chemical wasteland and ruining lives in the process. But it didn't stop Clark from remaining friends with Lex. When Lex had first arrived in Smallville he had lost control of his Porsche Boxster and drove it off a bridge, it had been Clark that had saved him. To this day Lex was still confused over the events of that afternoon. He had lost control of his car and slammed, to his horror, into the young man that had been standing there on the bridge.

Clark.

The car had hurtled into the river below, taking Clark with it. Everything had gone black. And the next thing Lex knew he had been pulled to safety. By the young man he had slammed into. Lex knew by rights both he and Clark should have been dead. But Clark had somehow survived and saved Lex and it was something that Lex Luthor would never forget. That day signalled the beginning of their friendship. A friendship forged by destiny. Although Lex was still no further forward in unravelling the mystery that was Clark Kent. But he would. One day.

'And on that note, I think it's time for me to abandon,' Lex said with a smile. 'Lana, would you drop the monthly trading figures off at the mansion?'

Lana nodded her head. 'First thing in the morning. It's been another successful month,' she said unable to contain her obvious happiness at how well the Talon was doing.

'Well, that's all down to you,' he said. 'Keep up the good work.'

'You know,' said Chloe turning to them after he had gone. 'I never thought I'd hear myself say this, but sometimes I can actually understand where he's coming from. He can be quite nice at times.'

Clark smiled at her, as he caught Lana's eye. 'That's what I've been trying to tell you all along.'


	2. Lonely Day

Kennedy Carpenter glanced across the street towards the huge, old building from where a group of raucous guys had just come out of. The illuminated glass sign above the doorway said the place was called the Talon, some sort of coffee-house/movie theater. She glanced around her and let out a long breath, pushing a lock of wavy dark red hair behind her ear.

So this was Smallville. She had just arrived and already she wanted to leave. The town was less than a three hour train-ride outside of Metropolis and yet it had been almost two days since she had escaped the big bustling city. And she had no intention of ever going back.

_But what am I doing here? Nothing but a crummy small town with nothing to offer except_ -

A shiny brand-new black Porsche convertible with vanity plates that simply read 'LEX' had just pulled up outside of the Talon. It's stereo system pounding out some pumping club music. The sun glinting off it's highly polished sleek body.

_Now this is more like it_, Kennedy thought, leaning herself up against the street-light. She folded her arms over her chest and watched the guy that slid out of the black leather interior. Young, average height, dressed in an immaculate black suit and slate-gray t-shirt, complete with designer shades and from this distance, Kennedy thought, _kind of cute_. Even given the fact that he didn't have a single hair on his incredibly smooth head.

_Cancer. Athlete swimmer, maybe._

They say a person could swim much faster by shaving off their entire body hair. The reasons behind his freaky fashion statement were endless. But right now he could have been Homer Simpson for all Kennedy cared. Because he had something that was of use to her. Something that she could use to get out of this crummy little town and as far away from Metropolis as possible.

He had a fast car.

She waited until he had disappeared inside the Talon, noting the Porsche's alarm system blinking into life as the door swung closed behind him. Alarm systems. _What good are they_? she thought wryly. But she knew underneath that sleek and shiny exterior there was a pretty high-class alarm all ready to alert everyone from miles around if she laid just one finger on it. _Only I don't need to._ The privilege of being just that little bit different.

She took a deep breath and then let it go concentrating on the job ahead, then she closed her eyes and immediately felt the energy course through her veins. It didn't take long. She heard the loud snapping noise from beneath the hood of the car, which told her that the wires rigged up to the system were cut and opened her eyes, feeling her blood slow down again. Taking another glance around she casually pushed herself away from the post and shrugging her tote bag further onto her shoulder, she stepped off the sidewalk and crossed the road towards where the Porsche was parked. Taking a quick glance inside the window of the Talon and making sure the car's owner wasn't on his way back out, she looked around her again. There were quite a few people milling around, but that didn't and wouldn't deter her.

She took a step towards the driver's side of the car and keeping her eyes on the door to the Talon, she opened the car door and quickly jumped in. She glanced down at the dashboard, hands on the wheel and concentrated on starting the car. But there was nothing. Porsches' were the hardest cars in the world for this kind of thing. So she decided to do it the other way. Leaning forward slightly she began to feel around underneath the dash for the wires that triggered the car ignition. It was fiddly work. Porsches' were also the hardest car in the world to hot-wire. Not that she had done this very often. Kennedy Carpenter was a lot of things, but by no means a car-thief. Or any kind of thief for that matter. She just saw an opportunity and took it. Before someone else did. Over the years she had learned to live on the streets. Knew what it took to survive. You did what you had to. End of story.

She tugged the wires in her hand and then began to twist them around in her fingers, touching the tips of them against one another. The car spluttered, but didn't quite fire into life.

'Damn,' she muttered under her breath. 'C'mon. Gimme a break.' She was too busy trying to get them to spark that she didn't see the car's owner appear at the door and it wasn't until she heard the smooth voice, that she jumped and felt her heart sink.

'I guess it would be a lot easier if you had a set of these.'

She heard the jangle of the car-keys and groaning inwardly lifted her head and turned to look at him. He stood there, all decked out in his expensive suit, the warm sunshine bouncing off his incredibly smooth head and even though he was smiling at her, she knew by the look in his ice-blue eyes that he really wasn't amused.

'I almost had it,' she muttered to herself.

'Almost,' he repeated. 'But not quite.'

The first thing Lex noticed were her eyes. Emerald green and wide. Because he knew she wasn't going anywhere and he had just caught sight of Deputy Monaghan coming out of the donut shop about to begin his usual afternoon rounds, he just stood there and allowed himself the uninterrupted pleasure of looking over the rest of her. He decided she was a pretty little car-thief. Great eyes, long red hair and a full, almost sulky mouth. She looked around Clark's age. Maybe a little older. And as for the way she was dressed, typical teen. Rockstone boots and dark green combats, a plain white t-shirt and a long, black leather duster-style coat finished the ensemble. Urban with a dash of G.I. Jane thrown in for good measure. Interesting.

Kennedy sighed, then looked back at him. 'You gonna call the cops?,' she asked sourly.

'No need.' He pointed a finger to his right and Kennedy saw the short, fat police officer waddling his way towards them.

'Great,' she muttered. The last thing she needed was heat from the cops. She opened the door and climbed out the car. She was just about to make a run for it, when Lex grabbed her by the arm. Tight. 'Hey!,' she complained.

'I don't think so,' he said as she tried to pull away.

'Look, I didn't steal your freakin' car!,' she said through her teeth. 'Just let me go!' She tried to wriggle free.

'The fact that you didn't succeed in driving the car away isn't my concern,' he told her. 'The fact that you managed to bypass the security system is.'

'Everything alright here, Mr. Luthor, sir?,' said a gravelly voice from behind them both.

Lex turned. 'Deputy Monaghan, nice to see you again,' he greeted him.

Monaghan peered at the young girl struggling in his grip and nodded at Lex. 'She causing you grief?'

Lex looked down at the pretty little car-thief and smiled. 'I caught her trying to steal my car.'

Monaghan screwed up his face and glared at her. 'You wanna press charges, Mr. Luthor?'

Kennedy rolled her eyes, let out a long exasperated breath and shook her head in agitation.

'I can take her down to the station right now,' continued Monaghan.

Lex looked down at the girl. She scowled back at him, her lips pouting and her green eyes flashing anger. And Lex couldn't help but think how even more pretty it made her look.

'Well?,' she said to him. 'Are you going to answer him?' His grip was tight and beginning to hurt as well as annoy. She wished he'd just let damn go of her.

Lex slowly shook his head. 'No, Deputy, I'm not going to press charges.'

Kennedy blinked up at him in surprise. The anger she had felt only moments before faded and was quickly replaced by curiosity and confusion. And then suspicion. Her green eyes narrowed slightly.

'Okay,' said Monaghan scratching at the back of his head, obviously just as puzzled. 'As long as you're sure.'

'I'm sure,' said Lex still looking at the girl.

Monaghan turned his attention onto Kennedy. 'It might be best for all concerned, young lady, if you keep your hands to yourself. We don't like that sort of thing here in Smallville,' he said his tone disapproving. 'You're not from around here, are you?'

She answered him with a scowl. Lex couldn't stop the smile twitching at the corners of his mouth.

'Mmm,' mused Monaghan. 'Didn't think so. Might be best if you move on.' He nodded at Lex. 'Afternoon, Mr. Luthor.'

Lex gave him a nod and he waited until he was waddling his way back up the street, before he turned his attention back to the girl.

'Why'd you do that?,' she asked him, before he got a chance to speak.

The distrust was obvious in her voice. And it hit a raw nerve within Lex. Trust didn't come too easily to him either. His father had planted the seed in him from an early age.

_We're Luthors, son. We trust no-one. Everyone wants a piece of what we have. Everyone_.

'To be honest with you, I have absolutely no idea,' he told her. And it was the truth. He wasn't sure why he hadn't turned her over to Monaghan. Maybe it was the indifferent look he had seen in her eyes or maybe it had been something else entirely. Sure, he had seen the challenge and the couldn't-care-less attitude, but when he had grabbed her by the arm to stop her escaping, he had seen something else. He wouldn't describe it as fear, but it was along those lines. And he had been overcome with a feeling that it had nothing to do with his pending police threat. She wasn't from around here. He knew that much. Smallville was just that. A small town. He'd have remembered her pretty face if he'd seen it before. She was obviously here for a reason and a part of him was curious what that reason was.

'Can we let go of the arm now?,' she said getting agitated again.

Lex dropped his hand from her arm. 'That's a brand new car. I've had it less than a month. When I purchased it, the dealer assured me that the security system was the best of it's kind. I want to know how you bypassed it.'

She looked at him and licked her lips. 'It's just a little party-trick of mine,' she said casually. 'That's all.'

Lex just looked at her, bemused and she rolled her eyes and sighed.

'Okay, so I used to be the star member of my local magic club. Can I go now?,' she bristled.

Lex gave a short dry laugh. 'We're talking a two hundred thousand dollar car, complete with a twenty thousand dollar alarm system and you think you can just palm me off with the story that it was a party-trick?'

'Don't start getting all upright and virtuous. It's a little late for that. You had your chance to turn me in and you didn't. What's _that_ all about?'

'The whole trying to make off gave me the distinct impression that you weren't overly-keen to spend the evening in the local jail-house.'

'So you were doing me a favor.'

'You could at least say thank you,' he drawled.

She shook her head. 'Go to hell.' She pushed past him.

'Hey,' he said and she stopped to look back at him, her green stare cold. 'Maybe you should think about etiquette classes on the days you're not pulling rabbits out of top-hats. I think you'd be surprised by the benefits.'

He watched her pretty green eyes narrow as she glowered at him, then she ran across the street disappearing into the crowd. Lex stood for a moment, watching her go and then glanced down at the car-keys he held in his hand. He smiled and shook his head. Party-trick.

_Yeah_, he thought as he slid into the black leather interior of his car, _right._

* * *

Just after nine-thirty Lana closed up the Talon for the night. Clark had stayed behind and offered to help her tidy up and walk her back home to Chloe's house. He had declined Pete's offer of watching the video he had rented and instead Chloe had taken him up on it. Clark reminded her about the subtitles and she had said she would just grin and bear them. They had both left the Talon about an hour ago, armed with cans of soda and popcorn. Pete was glad of any opportunity to spend with Chloe. But he wished she would get over Clark so he could ask her out for real.

Lana locked up the door behind her and then she and Clark began to walk side by side down the street. Clark glanced up at the sky, dusk was beginning to fall and there were angry dark rain-clouds overhead.

'Looks like rain,' he said. 'Dad'll be happy. He reckons the crops could do with a good soaking.'

Lana smiled up at him. 'Do you think Chloe's okay?' Clark looked down at her one eyebrow lifted. 'Sorry for the random topic shift,' she apologised. 'I just wondered if you'd noticed anything going on with her.'

'She seems fine,' shrugged Clark. 'Same old Chloe.'

'It was just something she said back at the Talon when Lex showed up. The whole romance thing? I've never heard her talk that way before.'

'I'm sure if there was anything going on, you'd be the first person to know,' Clark assured her.

'Maybe,' pondered Lana. 'But haven't you noticed that since the two of you went to Prom together last year, she hasn't been out with anyone since? Maybe I'm just being overly dramatic.'

'I hadn't noticed she hadn't been dating. Then again,' he said smiling at her, 'guys don't normally pick up on stuff like that.'

Lana smiled and then rolled her eyes. 'I'm sorry. You must think I'm an idiot.'

'I'd never think that about you, Lana,' he said gently.

She looked up at him and caught the warm look in his eyes. It always made her heart race. And she never knew how to cope when she saw him look at her in that way, so she did what she always did. She quickly dropped her eyes and changed the subject. 'Only another week to go before school starts again,' she said.

'Yeah,' he said still looking at her. 'It's been a great summer.'

'It has, hasn't it?,' she said turning her face up to him and smiling.

'Makes me almost want to not go back to school.'

'I know what you mean,' she nodded. 'But it will be good to go back. I kind of miss the place.' Clark smiled at her and she grinned back. 'Okay, that was a lie. But I don't hate it.'

It had started to rain, soft small drops that quickly turned into great, big fat ones. And then there was a loud clap of thunder and the heavens really opened.

'Wanna make a run for it?,' Clark grinned at her.

Laughing, she nodded her head and Clark grabbed her hand and together they ran down the street, splashing through the puddles as they headed towards Chloe's house.


	3. Everybody Hurts

Kennedy had been walking along Route 90 for the last ten minutes and not one single car had passed her. How hard was it for a girl to get a ride somewhere?

_In this hick town? Damn hard._

When she'd left Metropolis she should have headed the other way. Somewhere worth heading to. And as if things weren't bad enough, it had started to rain. She pulled her leather coat tighter around her and huddled against it. The thunder rolled above her and the lightning crackled and split the dark night-sky. She hated thunder-storms. The lightning especially freaked her out. Her dad used to tell her that the loud crashing was just God moving his furniture around. And when the lightning flashed, just him testing his lights.

The thought made her smile even as the pain blossomed anew in her heart. He had died in a car accident ten years ago, when she'd been only nine years-old and she didn't think the aching would ever subside. If her father had still been alive, her life would have been so different. She wouldn't have ended up on the streets of Metropolis and the last few months, which had been one long and terrifying nightmare, would certainly never have happened. Everything would have been the way it was before. Perfect. Just her and her dad, living in their tiny little house in Knoxtown, with the white picket fence and the apple tree in the front yard. Spending their weekends out on the lake fishing and their summers at the cabin in Hunter's Creek. She felt a lone tear roll down her face and the raw pain in her throat.

_Don't go there, Kennedy. It won't get you anywhere. And right now anywhere is where you're headed._

She turned off down another long and twisting road and up ahead she saw lights. As she got nearer, she saw that they were in fact coming from a farm. She saw another light coming from a barn near to the house and as she got closer she saw people. It looked like two men, a father and son, they were working and raking out hay and laughing as they did. It made Kennedy swallow.

_Everybody has somebody._

She dropped her bag and climbed up onto the fence, her arms resting on the top plank and just watched them. Seeing them work together, side by side and obviously enjoying the closeness the task gave them, warmed Kennedy's heart. She was reminded of lazy summer afternoons, her father's sandy-blond head beneath the bonnet of a car and her, dressed in dungarees, handing him the tools he needed to complete the job. It made her miss him even more. And when the tears fell, she didn't bother to wipe them away.

Another loud clap of thunder sounded overhead and then a jagged streak of lightning split the sky. Above her Kennedy heard the sound of snapping branches in the tree beside where she stood. She glanced up as another streak of lightning hit the tree and she saw the branches spark and begin to crack and split. It wasn't until the huge branch finally snapped and fell down towards where she stood, that she heard herself scream.

* * *

After dropping Lana off at Chloe's house, Clark had gone home and helped his father finish off the cleaning out of the barn. He raked and swept while his father tied up bundles of fresh hay and threw them on top of the huge bale that stood in the corner.

Jonathan Kent was strong, a ruggedly handsome, blonde haired man in his early forties. His farm, his wife and his son were the only and most important things in his life. But not quite in that order. He was a hard-working man. A good man. And even though sometimes Clark got a little frustrated by his father's stubborness, especially over his friendship with Lex Luthor, Clark loved his father deeply. They were a close and loving family. Jonathan lifted one arm and wiped his brow along the sleeve of his red flannel shirt and then glanced over his shoulder at his son and smiled.

'Come on, son. Break a sweat,' he said jokingly.

Clark looked up from sweeping the floor and grinned at his father. 'Sometimes it's nice to do chores the old-fashioned way. Instead of the usual super-powered Clark Kent way.'

Jonathan smiled. 'Well, if you want to be out here for the rest of the evening, then go right ahead. But me, I'm looking forward to a cup of hot coffee and a slice of your mother's home-made apple pie.'

His mother's apple pie was to die for. And the thought of it made Clark's mouth water. He cast a grin over at his father and not even a second later, he had picked up speed as he began to fly around the barn, sweeping and raking, as he became just a dizzying speedy blur before his father's eyes. He was so fast it made Jonathan dizzy. Ten seconds later Clark had swept and raked and was now leaning the broom up against the barn wall. He grinned at his father, who hadn't even had time to tie off the bale of hay and dusted his hands, before slapping them together.

'Well,' Clark teased. 'That's me done.'

Jonathan laughed. 'Okay, son, just save me a slice of that pie.'

Clark grinned and was just about to turn to head out of the barn, when the sound of a scream split through the air outside. He turned back and frowned at his father. Jonathan straightened up from the bale and was just about to ask him what was wrong, when as quick as the lightning that lit up the sky, Clark was out of the barn and headed in the direction of where the scream came from.

* * *

It was almost as if Kennedy couldn't move, like she was superglued to the fence. She didn't have time to think or to act and for the first time in her life, even her usual quick thinking deserted her. She saw her short life flash before her eyes and as the branch was just about to come crashing down on top of her head, she felt the strong arms wrap around her and the next thing she knew she was being lifted and then she fell to the ground, as the branches came plummeting down and crashed through the fence where only seconds before she had been standing.

Clark kept his arms around her as he landed in the muddy puddle, using his body as a crash-mat. Then, her breathing quick and heavy, she lifted her head and looked at him.

'Oh, my god!,' she gasped, 'I - how did you...?'

'Are you okay?,' he asked her, concerned.

She closed her eyes as if needing to re-focus and she nodded her head. 'I think so. You broke my fall.' She looked at him. Even in the darkness and the rain she could see he was incredibly gorgeous. Strong jaw, chiselled face and clear, bright eyes. And judging by the rest of him, which lay beneath her, he was solid muscle.

_Wow._

Then realising she was staring a little too much into those clear eyes of his and that she was still lying on top of him, no matter how nice it felt, she quickly pulled herself up and stood, tugging at her coat.

Feeling a little self-conscious too, Clark climbed to his feet and looked at her. 'Are you sure you're okay?'

She ran her hand through her soaking wet hair and nodded her head. 'I'm fine. What about you? I mean, we landed with quite a thud.'

'I'm okay. I'm made of solid stuff.'

'I noticed.'

Clark just smiled modestly. 'Are you sure you're not hurt?'

'Really. I'm fine. Just a little shaken.'

'Okay, well, you seem fine. Not hurt. Or bleeding.'

'Always a good sign.'

He smiled at her. 'What were you doing out here? Are you lost or - '

'Trying to catch a ride into the next town.' She let out a breath and shook her head. 'No go.'

'Right. Well, if it's a ride you need, then I can - '

'No,' she said cutting him off. 'Really. You've done more than enough. If you hadn't shown up I would have ended up with a really bad concussion or...' She jerked one shoulder. '...dead.'

He couldn't help but smile at the deadpan remark. 'Listen, it doesn't look like this rain is going to let up. I live on that farm just there,' he said pointing. 'My folks won't mind taking you in for the night. You can have a hot bath and I'm pretty sure there may even be a slice of home-made apple pie in the offering.'

A bath...a warm bed...apple pie. It sounded like heaven. But she shook her head. 'Thanks. But I should just keep going.'

'It's no trouble.'

She saw the farm and the barn that she had only moments before been looking at. Then she saw the figure of a tall man come running across the field towards them and Clark saw the worried look in her face.

'It's okay,' he told her. 'It's just my dad. He, uh, must have heard you scream.'

Kennedy nodded and then turned back to him with a frown. 'So where did you come from?'

'Where'd I come from?'

'Yeah,' she said. 'I don't remember seeing anyone else on this stretch of road.'

'Oh, I was, uh, just passing. On my way home.'

'Right. And you live on that farm there?,' she said pointing.

'Yeah.'

'You, your parents and your brother?'

Clark looked at her and shook his head. 'I don't have a brother.'

'You don't?'

'No.'

'It's just I thought I saw two people in the barn when I was passing. Two men. But if you don't have a brother...' She stopped and frowned at him. Then remembered the way he had just appeared from nowhere and how quickly it had all happened. _Really quickly._ She looked back over at the man who was drawing nearer and then something else made her stop and think. She turned back to him, her brow knitted together. 'You heard me scream?'

Clark nodded. 'Yeah, I did.'

'Right,' she said slowly. 'From way over there...' She turned her gaze back to the barn and house in the distance. It was quite a way off. A good mile or two. The guy would have to have ears like a bat. Then she looked back up at him. An unexplainable weird feeling began to fill her. She bent down to retrieve her bag and flung it over her shoulder. 'Well, I...I think I should be going. Thanks for,' she pointed to the ground where they had fallen, 'that.' Then she moved by him and without a backward glance, she began to run as fast as her legs could carry her.

'Hey, wait!,' Clark called after her, watching her as she disappeared down the long, dark dirt-track.

'Clark!'

He turned and saw his father stop on the other side of the fence, he was out of breath from running and he leaned up against the post. He saw the branch that had smashed clean through the fence, before looking at his son. 'What happened?,' he asked.

'There was a girl. She was almost hit by a falling branch.'

Jonathan looked down the length of the road. 'Where'd she go?'

Clark turned back to the direction of where she had ran. She was nowhere in sight. 'She had to go,' he said thoughtfully.

'But she's okay?'

Clark nodded his head. 'Yeah,' he said still looking down the road. 'I think so.'

'Okay then, well, let's get you inside. You're soaking. Come on, son,' said Jonathan, as he turned and began to walk back across the field. 'We'll have to get that fence mended in the morning.'

Clark tore his gaze away from the road and then jumped over the fence and fell into step beside his father.

'Who was she?,' Jonathan asked. 'Was she around your age?'

'She seemed to be. I don't know. I've never seen her before.'

Jonathan sighed. 'Makes you wonder what her parents are thinking. Letting a young girl walk around in the dark on a night like this.'

'Yeah,' said Clark taking another thoughtful glance over his shoulder to where she had just been. 'Yeah, it does...'


	4. Spybreak

_**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** Big thanks to helkl031 for reviewing. :) I wasn't sure about the 1st chapter either and I wrote it! I didn't think it flowed right with the story. Gah! I just had an idea and had to get it out. The important bit about the opener was to give an insight into Lex being so down on love. How he never lets his emotions rule him. __"Romance makes you sentimental and sentimentality is synonomous to vulnerability." That little snippet is worth remembering. ;) And as for poor Chloe, well, she just got dragged into it. But don't worry, I have something set up for her. :)_

_I'm so glad you're enjoying it so far. Hope you enjoy this next chapter._

* * *

Inside the smaller of the two libraries within the huge and sprawling fifty+ room mansion complete with indoor and outdoor swimming pools, gym, tennis court and acres of well-kept and abundant gardens, sat Lex Luthor. The library, on the first floor, also doubled as his study/office complete with billiards table, a copious state-of-the-art music system and cinema-screen Tv with DVD player. The only light in the room was the glow from the line of church candles standing on top of the mantel-piece of the stone gothic fireplace. The storm had caused the lights to blow a circuit. As it had the security system to the mansion. The rest of the electrics were working fine.

Behind his smoked glass and chrome desk in a high-backed leather swivel chair, Lex sat on the telephone to one of his many employees and listened to him whining on about it being late and something about his wife, which Lex couldn't be bothered to even acknowledge let alone listen to. He picked up the remote control to the stereo and muted the sound, then broke into the annoying whine.

'Look,' he said trying to keep the agitation from his voice, 'I don't pay you to complain. I pay you to work. I don't care what time it is, I need you to send someone down here to look at the power. Because of this damn storm the lights, and more importantly, the security system are down. Now if you value your job and your resume, I strongly suggest you get someone down here. And fast.' Then he punched the call end button and placed the hand-set back into it's receiver. Getting up he went over to his stereo system and browsed through his vast CD collection, before inserting one into the disc player.

Seconds later the pumping club music filled the air and he crossed the room over to the drinks cabinet. He poured himself a tumbler of the finest scotch and took a sip.

_Ambrosia to the gods_, he thought swallowing the smooth caramel colored liquid, then he walked over to the billiards table and began to rack them up.

Outside the storm wasn't letting up any. The rain lashed down and the thunder rolled and rumbled. Flashes of lightning lit up the dark oak-panelled room as Lex settled his glass of scotch down on the side of the table. Then selecting a billiard cue, he chalked the end of it, bent over the table and broke. The loud clacking of the balls hitting against each other as they split and rolled and the thumping bass-line of the music was all Lex could hear.

He certainly didn't hear the sound of breaking glass somewhere on the ground floor.

* * *

After her brief encounter with the strong-armed, gorgeous but highly suspicious guy, Kennedy hadn't stopped running. She had witnessed some pretty weird things in her time, _hell, I'm the Princess of Weird_, but there had been something not quite right about the guy's story. Okay, so he had saved her from death-by-branch and for that she truly was grateful, but that wasn't what was niggling at her. It was the fact that she was pretty convinced that he had been the guy she had been watching in the barn with his father only moments before the whole breaking branch incident. And no matter how tall and how muscular he had been, there was no way that he could have heard her scream or gotten from the barn to her in what, less than five seconds?

She didn't know why she was freaking out about it. She had known strange, gifted people during the last few months she had spent in Metropolis. She hadn't realised there were so many different people, she had been beginning to wonder if she were the only one. So why had she reacted the way she had when he had shown up and saved her? Because let's face it, if he was some kind of weirdo then why bother saving her at all? She shook her head as she slowed down to a walk. She was acting all crazy and irrational. That was probably down to the fact that she hadn't eaten anything since that morning. Her blood-sugar levels were beginning to drop dramatically. Her stomach began to grumble and her mouth watered as she remembered the offer of apple pie he had made her. Another point in his favor. From her knowledge of weird guys, they didn't save you then offer you a slice of pie.

She groaned at the thought of food and pushed her hand into her coat pocket pulling out a five-dollar bill and a stick of gum.

_Great. Just great._

She unwrapped the gum and popped it into her mouth. She had been walking for a few minutes when she came to a cross-roads. She looked to her left, nothing but trees and more trees. She looked to her right. Again, more trees and not much else. Then she looked directly ahead and when she saw it, her mouth dropped open. She had never seen a house - correction, it was a castle - so big and so imposing. She wondered how she had even managed to miss it in the first place. It was very grand-looking, it's gothic turrets silhouetted eeriely against the night-sky. Trailing ivy covered almost the entire front of it's stone walls. Big iron gates sealed off the long gravelled drive-way. It was like something out of Dungeons and Dragons. She began to walk towards it, her feet crunching against the gravel beneath her. She stood at the gates and peered through them like a child with their nose pressed up against a candy store window. She smiled as she chewed on the gum. And what a candy store.

By the looks of things, it didn't appear that there was anyone home. She couldn't make out any lights and there were no signs of life. She began to almost drool as she thought about what was inside. Food. And beds. Probably huge great big, four-poster things with feather mattresses thirty inches thick. She imagined herself sinking into one of those mattresses and it made her sigh. It was enough to make her mind up. It was only for tonight. She'd never actually broken into someone's house before, but how hard could it be and besides, if they were going to go and leave the place standing empty...

She lifted her leg and jammed her booted foot against the railing, then lifting herself, she climbed up and tossed her bag over, before dropping to the other side. She landed smoothly on her feet and picked up her bag. She ran across the lush green lawn, past trellises, fountains and enormous stone pots billowing with flowers and plants and headed towards one of the long stained-glass windows on the ground floor.

_Real pretty_, she thought as she looked at it. Reds and blues and pretty diamond shapes. It seemed a shame to break it. But a pretty window wasn't going to satisfy her gnawing hunger or cure her physical and mental exhaustion. Lifting her right arm, she pressed her elbow against the window and with one sharp, short movement she slammed her elbow into the glass, shattering it. She waited a beat, listening for an alarm or some big vicious, slobbering guard-dog. Nothing came. She smiled to herself even though she shook her head. What kind of people lived in a place like this and didn't bother with security?

But she didn't give it another thought as she jumped up onto the stone sill of the window and climbed through. She was careful to mind the sharp shards of glass, but as she jumped down onto the floor below, her bag caught on the broken pane and she stumbled, her hand grabbing the glass as she tried to steady herself and she felt the ripping across her palm.

Grimacing and squeezing her hand into a fist, she slowly began to make her way through the room. It was completely dark and she couldn't see a thing. Although she could make out chairs and a table but not much else.

She made her way tentatively over to the door and carefully and quietly opened it. She peered out down the long dark hall-way and crept out, keeping close to the mahogany panelled wall as she did. Whoever lived here was big money rich.

_Mega big money rich_, she thought as she stopped in front of the magnificent old mahogany staircase. She heard her stomach growl as she placed one foot on the bottom step and peered up into the dark. Another flash of lightning split the sky and lit up the staircase. With one hand on the banister she began to make her way up the stairs.

She wasn't sure where she was going or even if she was headed the right way for the kitchen, but it wouldn't do any harm to take a look around, her inquisitive nature suddenly taking precedence over her hunger.

The next floor was as huge as the last one, with a myriad of doors and outlets that veered off to what Kennedy presumed were other wings of the house. At the very far end of the long hallway, whose carved walls were covered in oil paintings which hung in solid antique brass frames, was another staircase. She thought that one probably lead up to the bedrooms. And the huge, comfy four-poster beds. But right now she needed to find the kitchen.

As she opened door after door and peered inside, she saw each room was the same, lavishly decorated and furnished to the highest quality. In the silence her stomach let out a loud growl, making her jump slightly.

_Best find the kitchen._

She turned and was just about to head back to the staircase, when behind her she heard a door open and the sound of music suddenly filtered out of the room and down the hallway. Kennedy froze. Her heart began to race. There was someone home after all.

_This is fast becoming the worst day ever._

She was just about to make a run for the staircase when she heard the voice call out behind her. 'Hey! Hey, you!'

Without looking back Kennedy sprinted towards the stairs and took them two at a time.

* * *

Lex had grown bored of the billiards game. After glancing at his watch and seeing that almost ten minutes had passed since he had called his employee about the blown circuits and there was still no sign of him arriving, he had tossed the billiard cue down on top of the table sending the balls scattering. Then the telephone had rang and he had snatched it up, pointing the remote towards the CD player to turn down the volume. It had been Rosenbaum calling to say he was at the front gates with an electrician and could Lex buzz him in? Lex had gritted his teeth.

_Damn buffoon._

'That might be a problem Tom, seeing as how the security system is down. You remember me telling you that, right?,' he had said with just the right amount of sarcasm.

'Oh, right, yes,' stammered Rosenbaum. 'Mr. Luthor, sir. Sorry. We'll, uh...how will we get in, sir?,' he had asked almost feebly.

Lex had closed his eyes and let out a long sigh. 'You'll have to climb over the gates. But be careful, I don't want either of you breaking a limb before the damn power is fixed.' He'd punched the call-end button and put the telephone down. Then he'd walked over to the door and opened it. Stepping out into the dark hallway he couldn't believe his eyes. There was someone in the house. Right there, at the far end of the hall-way.

He had called out, but they had fled and raced for the stairs. Lex wasn't about to let this one go. After the incident earlier with his car and the pretty little car-thief, he really wasn't in the mood to play Mr. Nice-Guy anymore.

So he picked up his feet and ran after them.


	5. Serendipity

**_AUTHOR'S NOTE:_** _Thanks to helkl031 and HollowEmotion for reviewing. So glad you guys are enjoying the story. :) Here's another chapter to whet your appetite..._

* * *

Kennedy was almost at the top of the stairs when the hand grabbed the top of her left arm and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't break free. She kicked out and struggled all to no avail. They weren't letting go. Her duffle bag fell from her shoulder and landed on the floor with a thud.

'Hey!,' she yelled, 'Damnit! Get off me!' She whirled around to glare her captor in the face, when she saw to her horror and surprise, that it was the bald guy who's car she had tried to steal that very day. 'Oh great!,' she said in disbelief.

'You!,' said Lex, just as surprised when he looked into the emerald green eyes and realised who the burglar was. 'What the hell are you doing breaking into my house?'

Kennedy let out a long exasperated groan and shook her head. '_Your_ house? Oh, this day keeps getting better,' she said rolling her eyes upwards. 'Twice in one day. This _cannot _be happening.'

'It must be your lucky day,' said Lex dryly. 'Tell me, do you have something against me personally or was this just a well-timed opportunity?'

'Look,' she said staring him in the face, 'I didn't know this was your place, okay? I just,' she blew a red curl from out of her eyes, 'I just needed a place to crash for the night, that's all.'

'And you thought you would crash here.'

'My bad. Dumb, huh?,' she muttered.

'I'd say. How did you get in?'

'Easy. I broke a - ' She stopped abruptly when she saw the disapproving look in his eyes. 'Is it my fault you don't have a security system installed? A place like this should have a security system. Hell, you got one on your damn precious car - '

'The storm cut the power to the system,' he told her cutting her off mid-flow. He nodded upwards. 'The lights too incase you hadn't noticed. But after your - how did you describe it earlier - _party-trick_?,' he said with a wry smile. 'I'm seriously beginning to wonder if the quarter of a million dollars my father spent on having the thing installed, would have even thwarted your attempt to get in here.'

'Whatever,' she said almost impatiently. 'So what now? You gonna call your buddy Deputy Donut?'

A brief smile flickered over Lex's features. 'Tell me what you're doing here. In Smallville,' he added at her questioning look.

'I wasn't planning on staying,' she told him. 'I was just passing through. But, hell, what with bungled car-theft and damn thunderstorms, a girl's starting to wonder if someone on a bigger level has some kind of hand in it all.'

'Serendipity.'

She lifted one eyebrow. 'S'cuse me?'

'The fortunate finding of an unexpected object or solution while searching for something else.'

'Oh-kay,' she said mockingly. 'You trying to tell me you actually believe in that kismet crap?'

Lex smiled. 'I never used to.'

For a moment she saw his steely ice-blue eyes soften slightly. 'Can we let go of the arm now?'

He let go. 'I have to go down and see to the electrician,' he explained slipping his hands into his trouser pockets. 'Infact, I was just on my way there when surprise, surprise, you show up. You're soaking wet and you're obviously hungry. In the last few moments you've been chewing almost to the point of frenzy on that gum.'

Kennedy abruptly stopped chewing and immediately pushed the gum to the side of her mouth. She wasn't about to enlighten him with the fact that her frenzied chewing had been down to nerves.

'So,' he went on, 'the kitchen is next floor down, to the right at the bottom of the hall,' he said turning to nod with his head. 'Why don't you go down and see what you can find, while I go check on the electrician.'

Kennedy almost swallowed the gum and choked. 'I'm sorry, what?'

Lex saw the surprised look in her eyes and it made him slowly smile. 'I said, the kitchen is - '

'I know what you said,' she interrupted him mid-flow. 'What I don't understand is why.'

'Are you telling me you're not hungry?'

At that moment her stomach decided to join in the conversation. Lex arched one eyebrow and half-smiled at her.

'I guess that answers my question.'

'Cut the nice-guy routine.'

He couldn't hold back the amused look at the obvious irritation in her voice. Pulling his hands from out his pockets he folded them over his chest. 'Clearly you don't know me. But please, go on,' he said.

'Are you deficient or something? I break into your car and instead of busting me to the cops you let me walk away and now you catch me red-handed breaking into your house and you stand there and offer me a bite to eat?'

'Kind of surreal, ain't it?,' Lex drawled.

'Surreal doesn't cut it,' she said eyeing him. 'What's the matter with you?'

'Just trying to be a good samaritan.'

She snorted. 'What makes you so sure that I'm not going to clean the place out and leg it when your back's turned?'

Lex smiled. 'You're not going anywhere. Not tonight, anyway.'

She narrowed her eyes, scowling at him. 'Don't be so sure of that.'

'Look, as much as I'm eager to finish this bout of verbal judo, I really need to sort out the - '

'Electrician. Yeah, you mentioned it once or twice. I don't give a rat's ass about your damn security system, I just want to know what your game is.'

'Quite the spitfire aren't you? Trust issues, too. You really are a doubting Charlotte.'

'I just don't get why you aren't turning me in. _Again._'

He didn't know either. 'I believe that you didn't break in here because you knew the house belonged to me and I also believe that it wasn't your intention to steal anything. Like you said, you needed a place to crash for the night. It's just sod's law that you picked my home to do just that.'

'Don't you mean _serendipity_?,' she said bitingly.

It only made him smile. Not quite the response she'd been going for, but hey, this guy was even weirder than strong-arms who'd saved her from the falling branch. She was beginning to wonder if maybe she should have taken him up on his offer of a hot bath and apple pie after all. The best of a bad and weird lot.

'Like I said, kitchen's next floor down. Help yourself. When I return we can think about getting you into a hot bath and - '

'Whoa,' she interrupted him, crossing her hands in a 'T' shape._ What is it about guys in this town and hot baths_? 'So that's your stratagem? You think I'm fair game. Is that it? Well, I'm sorry to tell you, Mr. Up-On-Himself,' she said looking him up and down. 'But you're not my type.'

A smile tugged up one corner of Lex's mouth. 'That applies to the both of us. I'm no more interested in you than you are in me.'

It was a lie of course. He was as wildly curious about her now as he had been when he'd caught her red-handed in his car. Maybe even more so. He, himself, was beginning to wonder if this wasn't chance, but like she had said something bigger entirely. With that in mind, he let his eyes roam over her face. Every pretty inch of it. Expressive wide eyes, cute button nose, beauty mark above full, pouty lips and wild red hair. He found himself slowly licking, almost unconsciously at his lips. Then he shifted his gaze and ran it down the length of her. Taking in the boots and baggy combats and the long leather coat, he began to wonder what she'd look like in a dress. He lifted his eyes back to her and saw the challenge and outrage in those amazing green eyes. The same look he had seen just that afternoon.

'And you needed to scope me just to be certain?,' she said obviously irritated.

'Don't worry,' he told her. 'Your virtue is perfectly safe. I prefer my women more...' He dropped his eyes to her clothes again, before trailing back up to her scowling eyes, faintly smiling as he did. '...feminine.' Then he turned and began to walk away.

Kennedy watched him leave with her mouth falling open.

_Feminine_?

Was he implying that she wasn't? She looked down at her casual attire. What was wrong with what she was wearing? It looked great and it served it's purpose. She lifted her head in time to see him disappear around the corner and she scowled. Who the hell did he think he was, anyway? He wasn't exactly Johnny Depp. Okay, so at first glance, she had thought he was pretty cute, in an enigmatic kind of way. But he was also arrogant and obnoxious and downright rude too. And the shaved head thing? What was _that_ all about?

She let out an angry growl and then bent down to pick up her bag, slinging it carelessly over her shoulder. Her hands fists by her sides as she began to stalk her way down the hallway.

_Where did he say the kitchen was_?

* * *

In an underground room inside a building, The Harper Institute for Gifted Children, in the city of Metropolis were three people. One of them a small child, strapped to a chair with wires and electrodes stuck to his little, thin frame and the machines and equipment that surrounded him beeped and blinked as the seisometer's printed out reports and information.

'I'm tired,' moaned the boy. 'Please can we stop now?'

One of the other two people, a tall imposing woman with a beautiful, but hard face and cool blonde hair, wearing a long white lab coat, glanced up from the computer screen before her. 'Just a few more minutes, Tyler,' she said.

'Maybe we should stop.'

The woman turned in her chair and looked at the man behind her. 'We've almost cracked this, Royce,' she said her voice cold. 'What's wrong with you? Are you thinking about that damn girl again?'

Royce Harper sighed and glanced across at the young boy. His eyes heavy with exhaustion. Tyler was nine years old and telepathic - he could read minds. Royce and his wife Elizabeth had found the boy on the streets of Metropolis, filthy and starving. He was an orphan who had run away from the care facility he had been placed in. They had watched him over a period of time, then they had taken him in like they had with all their other children. Or as his wife now preferred to call them: their experiments.

'We will find her, Royce,' she said turning back to her computer. 'We've got a surveillance team working around the clock.'

'And then what?'

Elizabeth turned her icy blue eyes on her husband of ten years and Royce felt himself almost shrinking back beneath her arctic stare. 'Then we do what we have to. We dispose of her.'

Royce stood and ran his hand through his short dark hair, before pulling off his steel-rimmed spectacles and rubbing at his tired eyes. 'She's the most incredible thing that ever happened to this institute and - '

'You always did have a soft spot for her,' Elizabeth noted dryly.

He turned to his wife. 'And you didn't.'

Elizabeth gave a short laugh. 'It was good while it lasted. We discovered things we thought we never would. I'll admit she was a scientist's dream. But it's over. And you need to get over it.' She turned back to her work. 'Once we find her, we'll bring her back here, finish our research and forget we ever met her. Then should anyone ask, her death was sudden. Maybe an illness. Or an unforeseen accident. We'll do what we always do, Royce. Play the part of the grieving guardians and then after a while, no-one will even remember.'

'Except for us.'

'You're going soft, Royce my sweet. We're in this together. Don't bail on me now.'

Royce dropped his head and stared at the floor. 'She trusted us,' he said heavily.

'They all do. It's how we get what we want, remember?'

Sighing heavily, he slipped on his spectacles and then turned and quietly left the room, leaving his wife to do what she did best.

Destroy innocent lives.


	6. Good Samaritan

_**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** Sorry I haven't updated this in forever. I lost all my work :( and only recently found the back-up disks. If anyone is still interested in this story, thank you for being patient. :) I hope to update at least twice a week from now on. Hope you enjoy this next chapter. _

* * *

When Lex came back a few minutes later he found her in the kitchen sitting at the granite-topped breakfast bar, chewing on a sandwich crammed full with cheese. He stood by the door, a lighted church candle in one hand and took a moment to look at her.

_Who is she? And why do I even care so much?_

It niggled him. Really got under his skin and niggled him. Okay, so she was a pretty little thing, despite the obvious lack of respect to other people and authority, and not forgetting the couldn't-care-less attitude. _But_, Lex thought, _there's something else._

She reminded him of himself at that age. Rebellious. No respect for the law. Trying to make a mark on the world. And he didn't know why, but with that, he had a feeling that she had lost everything. Just then she lifted a hand to push her hair from her face and let out a painful hiss through her teeth as she looked at her palm. Lex saw the blood and presumed it had happened when she had broken in here. She got up to cross over to the sink, and running the cold faucet put her bleeding hand under it.

'There's a first-aid kit around here somewhere,' Lex said.

Startled, Kennedy jumped and turned to see him standing in the doorway. He looked eerie and even more enigmatic standing there, candle in hand, watching her with intent. As if on cue, a roll of thunder sounded outside and she found herself swallowing, before giving him a shake of her head.

'It's just a scratch.' She turned off the faucet and went back to sit at the counter.

Lex came inside the kitchen and placed the candle down on the work-top, then began opening up the many cupboard doors to look inside. He eventually found the first-aid kit beneath the sink and went over to her. 'Give me your hand,' he said.

'It's fine.'

'Give me your hand,' he repeated.

She quirked a brow at him. 'Is this how you get what you want? By barking out orders?'

'Just give me your hand.' He opened up the first-aid kit and took out a tube of antiseptic salve. Unscrewing the lid he looked at her. 'Well?'

She sighed and put down the sandwich to hold out her hand to him. He squeezed a small blob onto the wound and Kennedy felt it sting.

'Rub it in,' said Lex, while he took a bandage from the kit and began to unwrap it from the sterile packet.

'Why are you doing this?,' she asked, while she rubbed the salve into her hand.

'Because I don't want you bleeding all over the place. Most of the floor coverings were hand-crafted in the Far East. Very expensive to replace.'

'I meant - '

'I know what you meant,' he interrupted. 'That was just my idea of a joke.' He gave her a slow smile.

Kennedy shook her head. 'You're weird,' she muttered.

'I've been called worse,' he replied. 'Hand.'

'Do you always get what you want?'

Another slow smile. 'Always,' he drawled.

As Kennedy held out her hand she didn't doubt it. Expertly, and carefully she noted, he wrapped the bandage around her injured hand before tying it off.

'I think you'll live,' he declared.

She made a fist and released it again. The bandage was tight enough to stem the bleeding but not so uncomfortable that it would cut off her circulation. She lifted an eyebrow and gave him a nod. 'Not bad,' she said, impressed. 'For a weird guy.'

Lex began to pack away the first-aid kit. 'So,' he said bending to put the kit back beneath the sink. 'Do you have a name?'

'Kennedy.'

He turned back, amusement in his eyes. 'Is that your real name?,' he inquired.

She gave him another of those challenging green stares. 'My dad was a J.F.K. fan.'

Lex smiled. 'Okay then. _Kennedy._ Are you in trouble?'

She stopped chewing. 'No. Why would you say that?'

Lex shrugged. 'So what's your story?'

'So what's your name?,' she mimicked him, which only made him smile all the more.

'Lex. As in Alexander the Great. My father was a scholar of Greek history.'

'Okay then. _Lex,_' she bit out. 'Just for the record, I'm not in any trouble, I didn't steal anything, I haven't killed anyone and I'm not a runaway. That answer your question?'

'That and so much more.' He slipped his hands into his pockets. 'Y'know, Kennedy, no one here is impressed by your attitude. And I should know, I wrote the book on adolescent rebellion.'

She answered him with a roll of her eyes. 'I don't remember saying I cared. So why do you?'

He looked at her for a long moment, her green stare unflinching as it held his. 'I have absolutely no idea,' he said. Just then the lights in the kitchen suddenly flickered and came to life. 'Maybe it's because I want to help you,' he added.

'Maybe I don't need to be helped.'

Lex took a step towards the counter. 'So your name is Kennedy and in your spare time you like to hotwire cars and break into houses. If you're not in trouble now, you soon will be. Tell me where you're from. The city?' He bent his head to blow out the candle, then looked back at her.

'No. And as for stealing your car, I needed it to get me somewhere. It was nothing personal.'

'Where?'

'Anywhere,' she murmured.

'So you weren't planning on staying in Smallville?'

'I told you I was just passing through. Don't you listen? Besides, who'd want to stay here? Have you seen this place?'

'Smallville's okay.'

'Maybe for some, but not me.' She looked at him. 'Anyway, what's someone like you doing in a crummy small town like this?' She lifted the bottled water to her lips and took a drink.

'Someone like me?,' he repeated, amused. Just then the cell-phone in his trouser pocket began to ring. He took it out, flipped it open. 'Yeah?'

While he was on the phone, Kennedy slid down from the stool and wandered around the huge state-of-the-art kitchen. Unlike the rest of the house this room was completely contemporary, and housed every kitchen gadget and electrical item she could imagine. The floor was Italian mosaic tile, the work-tops were granite and the fixtures and fittings were solid brass, while smoked glass adorned the cupboard doors. She doubted he actually cooked in here, it looked too clean. Clinical. Besides he probably didn't cook at all. He most likely had his own chef and maids and butlers. When she turned she saw that his blue eyes were looking right at her, even as he spoke into the phone, and out of nowhere she felt her stomach do a little somersault.

_Oh-kay, where'd that come from? So he's cute, oddly attractive...But let's just keep it at that. Let's not lose focus and forget the plan. To get as far away as possible from Metropolis. No distractions._

She looked at him, still looking at her.

_No matter how...oddly attractive they are._

Lex ended the call and pushed the phone back inside his pocket. 'It's late and seeing as you broke in here to crash then may I suggest you do just that. Follow me,' he said moving by her. 'I'll show you to one of the guest-rooms.'

_Oh and not forgetting weird._ 'Wait a minute,' she said.

He turned back, hands still in his pockets. 'Is there a problem?'

'I don't get this,' she said, clearly confused.

'There's nothing to get. It's a stormy night, you have nowhere to stay and considering what you've cost me today in replacing the alarm system to my car, I'm not about to forget my breeding. Besides, you look exhausted. You can take a bath and get your head down.'

She let out a small gasp and shook her head. 'And that's it? You're just going to let me walk out of here in the morning and forget this whole day ever happened? Or is this another twist to your nefarious scheme? Pretend like you're my friend and then tomorrow morning the cops show up and haul me off to the big house?'

Nefarious scheme. Lex liked that. He lifted one shoulder and shrugged. 'Something like that,' he said casually.

Her mouth dropped open and then she gave him a scowl. She picked up her bag. 'That's it. I'm outta here. I don't know what game you're trying - '

'Kennedy,' Lex said. 'I'm kidding.'

'Do you see me laughing?'

'I apologise. Look, I get the impression that you haven't met many decorous individuals in your lifetime, but believe me, there's no hidden agenda here. No _nefarious_ scheme. I'm just offering you a warm bed for the night. And tomorrow morning you're free to leave.'

Kennedy eyed him, weighing it all up. He hadn't been anything but nice to her, no matter what she had done, up to now he hadn't given her any reason to doubt his credibility. Maybe she was just over-reacting. Her defensive nature, like always, seemed to just kick in, take over. Like it had a mind of it's own. 'Everybody wants something,' she muttered.

'So my father believes.'

'It's hard to trust.'

Her soft tone surprised Lex. The attitude and anger was suddenly gone and had been replaced by a touching vulnerability. She really wasn't as tough as she liked to make out. He was overcome with the curious feeling he'd had since first meeting her. And like before her words hit a raw nerve within him. 'Kennedy,' he said her name gently. So gentle it took _him_ by surprise. She lifted her head and rested her green gaze on him, there was an undeniable sadness there, and he felt something inside of him pull. Which only confused him more. 'I don't want anything,' he assured her. 'I don't _need_ anything. You can trust me.'

Kennedy let go of a gentle sigh and carelessly jerked her shoulders. 'Whatever,' she said wearily. 'I guess I am pretty tired and it's just for tonight.'

'Whatever you want,' he told her.

She nodded and then moved by him, out into the hall-way.

Lex would find out about her. And even though he didn't have a clue why it mattered so much, he knew he would do everything in his power to help her. Because no matter what she said, she _was_ in trouble. He could smell it on her. He'd been in it often enough himself, he knew the signs.

And all her's were loud and very clear.


	7. Sitting On Top Of The World

_**AN: **Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. :) I really didn't think anyone was still interested in this story. I'm going to try and update at least twice a week from now on. In the meantime here's chapter 7 - I kind of lost my way a little with this one, it's really just filler. But I hope you enjoy it. Once again, thank you! :_)**  
**

* * *

Outside she could hear the faint hum of birds nesting way up high in the trees. Inside the ticking of the clock on the bedside table. Turning over she flung one arm over her head as her eyes slowly opened and took in the cream silk canopy above her, it's soft gauziness fluttering slightly as she moved. The rest of the bed was pretty incredible, too. King-size, solid oak, four-poster with a mattress that had to be at least thirty inches thick. Just like she had imagined.

Kennedy smiled to herself and couldn't hold back from snuggling back down beneath the warm, cosy covers. She could quite happily stay there the entire day, with the birds singing outside of the window and the warm feeling inside of her. But all good things came to an end. She knew she couldn't stay. Not in this bed, in this place. Nor in this town. With a heavy sigh, she glanced at the clock, surprised to see it was almost ten am. She _never_ slept late. Had never allowed herself or been able.

She threw back the covers and swung her legs over the side of the bed, smiling when her feet didn't even touch the floor. She gave her toes a little wriggle, then with a small hop was out of bed and walking across to the window. It was a gorgeous day, the storm of last night had cleared the air and made way for the sun that was shining high and bright, an orange ball of fire in the blue sky. And the view…was simply breath-taking. She could see miles and miles of lush green gardens and distant farmland, and horses grazing in the nearby fields. She dropped her head against the window frame, and for a brief moment indulged herself in a little fantasy, imagining she was a princess in a fairytale castle. And Lex...what was his part? The knight in shining armour? He had certainly come to her rescue last night. She smiled and shook her head.

She was too old for fantasies and wishes. Sliding back into reality she made her way across the room, her toes curling in the thick carpet and into the bathroom. Looking at her bandaged hand, she remembered how gentle Lex had been when he had applied the dressing. He was a mystery, but one she would never get to unravel. After this morning, she would never see him again. This time tomorrow, only the good Lord knew where she'd be. But she was grateful to Lex. He had shown her more kindness in such a short time than most had her entire life.

After she'd washed and brushed her teeth, she bunched her red curls up into a high ponytail and went back into the bedroom to get dressed. While she pulled on a pair of well-worn jeans, she noticed how eeriely quiet it was. Maybe Lex had left for the day. No doubt he owned some huge skyscraper of an office building somewhere. He'd probably even forgotten she was here. After all, a person could easily be forgotten or get lost in a place this size. After making up the bed and stuffing her things into her bag, she picked up her leather coat from the chair by the window. Over by the door she stopped and looked back at the room, suddenly remembering Lex's words as he had shown her to the room only the night before.

_"I think you'll like this one. It has a tub. All the other guestrooms have showers."_

A bath seemed like a little piece of heaven to her, and he had known without her even saying a word how much she would appreciate a long, luxurious soak in a foam-filled tub, to a few quick minutes in a shower. He had opened the door and it felt like she had stepped into a dream. She had never seen a room so big or so luxurious. The four-poster took precedence, the cream silk canopy and the matching quilted bedspread luxuriously feminine. The furnishings were all oak and tastefully elegant. An eighteenth century Charles I cheval mirror stood by the window, and the floor-to-ceiling wardrobes that took up the entire length of one wall. There was even a pretty vanity table with three oval-shaped mirrors, and a cream velvet stool. Satin wall-covering adorned the walls in the same delicate shade of cream, embossed with tiny pink rose-buds. One French oil painting hung on the wall at the foot of the bed and there were crystal vases filled with petrified red roses. The entire room was, quite simply, the most exquisite room she had ever seen. And it made her wonder why a man like Lex would have a room as beautiful and elegant as this one.

_"It's so beautiful,"_ she had said. _'It seems a shame to let someone use it.'_

_'No one has.'_

She had looked at him and he had seen the question laced with an underlying happiness in her eyes, and his heart had surprised him by giving an insistent little knock against his chest. It made him wonder, but as quickly as it happened he dismissed it. He had known she would like the room. It felt nice to do this, to make someone happy. That was all it was.

_'Get some rest,'_ he had said and then closed the door behind him.

With her hand on the polished brass door-knob, Kennedy took one last look around her, then she quietly closed the door on her little piece of heaven.


	8. Follow Me

Lex sat in his office, the telephone nestled in the curve of his shoulder, while he tapped the keys of his laptop. He was talking to his father who was on a business trip in Washington DC, and as always Lex found himself becoming irritated by what he considered to be his father's constant "checking-up" on him. His father had sent him to Smallville almost two years before to run the fertilizer plant and to turn it around financially. Also, Lex knew, to see if he had matured any, and developed a head for business. He was the only heir to the Luthor fortune and the man who would one day take the reins of the company his father had worked hard to build.

Back then Lionel had seen the assignment as a challenge, whereas Lex had viewed being sent to the sleepy small-town as some sort of punishment for not living up to his father's expectations. But if there was one thing Lex Luthor knew how to do, it was to make the most of a bad lot. His father's distance during his childhood and teenage years had learned him. Since then, Lex had made a life for himself in Smallville and had started up his own thriving business as well as buying out the old Ross factory from his father.

"Is this why you called me, dad? To find out what I have or haven't been up to while you've been gone?," he asked, unable to keep the annoyance from his voice.

"I simply called to find out how you were, son. Isn't a father allowed to do that?"

"I guess,' said Lex with an impatient sigh. _But for you it's a little unorthodox._ "So how's Washington?"

"Very well. I hope to seal the transaction while I'm here. It'll certainly save me from flying back out in a few days time."

"Right," said Lex trying to remain interested. He knew his father was buying into another chemical company which had been experiencing difficulties in keeping afloat. Lex also knew once his father bought the company that any staff would be fired. There were plenty of others who wanted to work for the great Lionel Luthor. They all wanted the Luthor Corp name on their resumes. After all, his father was the largest pesticide manufacturer in the United States. "So when you coming back?"

"Expect me in a couple of days. I'll call and let you know."

"Fair enough," said Lex. He leaned forward in his chair while he glanced at the figures on the crystal display screen before him. A noise outside in the hall-way made him look up, the door to his office was open slightly, it opened further and he saw Kennedy. Realising he was on the telephone she was about to step back out into the hallway, when he placed his hand over the mouth-piece. "Kennedy," he said. "It's fine. Come in."

She came inside and he saw that she had her bag and coat in her arms.

"Dad," he said into the mouth-piece. "I have to go. Yeah, whatever. Bye." He hung up the telephone and looked at her.

"Sorry about that," she said pointing to the telephone.

"Nothing important," he said dismissing it. "How did you sleep?"

"Well, it's way past ten and I never usually sleep any later than seven, so..."

He smiled. "So the bed was maybe a little _too_ comfortable?"

Smiling back, she bit down on her bottom lip and nodded. "It was perfect. Thank you."

"Don't mention it. So, you're leaving," he said gesturing to her belongings in her arms.

"Just one night, remember?," she reminded. "I wanted to make an early start. Guess that's out the window.'

"An early start to anywhere," Lex said, leaning back in his chair to study her.

"Wherever the road takes me." _So long as it's far away from Metropolis I don't care_, she added to herself.

"You never did mention what brought you here."

"I told you I wasn't in any trouble."

"Hmm. What are you running away from, Kennedy?"

She drew in a quick breath, wet her lips and dropped her eyes from his studying gaze. "I'm not running away from anything,' she muttered. "I just want to make a fresh start. Somewhere else. That's all."

Lex nodded. But he knew there was more to this than met the eye. He didn't think her trouble was of the breaking-the-law kind, but there was definitely something she wasn't telling him. "You hungry?," he asked her.

She shrugged. "I guess."

"Then stay and have some breakfast. Can't have you going all the way to anywhere on an empty stomach."

Kennedy lifted her eyes back to him and found he was smiling at her.

"What do you like?," he asked, picking up a handset on his desk. "Eggs? Waffles?"

"Sounds good," she nodded, wandering over to the billiards table at the other side of the room.

"Constance," Lex said into the mouth-piece. "Could you rustle me up some of your delicious waffles and maybe some eggs and bacon?"

"I could go for some OJ, too," Kennedy said.

Lex smiled at her. "And some orange juice. Thank you." He hung up the telephone. She was racking up the billiard balls in the triangle and he got up from his chair. " Do you play?," he asked, walking over to her.

"I've been known to."

"Then how about a game?"

"Don't you have some work to be getting on with? Companies to buy, exploit, whatever."

A wry smile touched Lex's lips. "You think you have me all worked out, don't you?"

"I don't care what you do. It's none of my business," she said, walking around to the other side of the table.

"Was that your subtle attempt of telling me to stay out of yours?"

"I'm really grateful to you. For last night, for not turning me in to the cops. Thing is, I'm not planning on sticking around long enough for us to become new best friends. Get me? I just want to move on. Start again somewhere new."

"Why not here?"

She quirked one eyebrow at him. "Smallville?," she laughed out, then gave her head a firm shake. "I don't think so."

"Too close to Metropolis?"

For a brief moment Kennedy's heart stopped before picking up again. She looked at him. "I never said I was from Metropolis."

Lex shrugged. "Just a guess."

She didn't say anything, she didn't need to. He had seen it in her face. Whatever she was running from, the city of Metropolis was the key. He knew that now.

"So," she said, quickly changing the subject, "this is a great room." She gazed up at the high carved ceiling and the magnificent glass chandelier that hung from the centre and over to the stone fireplace and the books that adorned the bookcases on the balcony above. She also noticed the office equipment. "You work from here?"

"Most of the time," Lex replied. Her sudden slide into the change of subject hadn't gone unnoticed. "When I'm not in Metropolis," he added, waiting for a reaction from her. He didn't get one.

She had gotten her eye on the stereo system the other side of his desk. "Wow," she said, stopping in front of the antique sideboard it stood on. "This is pretty cool. You're obviously into your music big time. This must have cost something. Bet the sound is just amazing."

"Kennedy - "

"You've got some hot CDs, too," she said, as if he hadn't spoken. She ran her fingers down the spines of the plastic cases.

"Kennedy."

"I used to have this one," she said, ignoring him and pulling a CD out from the rack. _I used to have a lot of things._

"Kennedy. I'm trying to talk to you."

"What?," she snapped.

The defensive look was back in her eyes and he resisted the urge to sigh. It only made him more convinced that what he was about to suggest was the right thing to do. "Look," he said leaning back against the billiard table. "I've been thinking, and I have a proposition for you."

Her eyes immediately narrowed in distrust. "A proposition?," she repeated, slipping the CD back into the rack. "What kind of proposition?"

"I don't know your story and to be honest with you if I never do, that's fine. We all have secrets, Kennedy."

"Even you?"

He half-smiled. "Like I said. You obviously have no idea where you're going and you clearly have no one to go to, so why not stay here."

She blinked at him, her brow knitting together. He had said it so casually, so matter-of-factly, like he offered strangers a place to stay every day of the week. "Excuse me?"

"It isn't like I don't have the room."

A small gasp of disbelief escaped her. "Who made you my guardian angel? You can't just invite me to stay here."

"I think I just did."

"You don't even know me."

He took a step towards her, hands in his pockets. "I have tried. You're not very forthcoming with information, Kennedy."

"Are you for real?"

Lex gave a casual shrug. "I hope so."

"You want me to stay here?"

"This has nothing to do with what I want. It's about what you want."

"And you think I want to stay here?"

"I'm just trying to do the right thing."

"Uhuh. And you think by taking me in like I were some sort of lost cause just so you can feel good about yourself, that makes it right? Who the hell died and made you my father?"

The challenge was back in her eyes again. He slowly nodded his head. "So your father's dead. I'm sorry."

Kennedy gritted her teeth and turned away from him, shaking her head, annoyed that she was giving him so much information without even realising it. "My father is none of your damn business."

Lex didn't push the subject. "I'm just trying to do a good turn, help you out. I thought I made it clear last night there was no hidden agenda. Nor do I want anything from you. I was under the impression that we had reached an understanding. Kennedy, you're obviously in trouble of some kind and I'm simply offering you a safe harbor. That's all. Nothing else."

She turned to look back at him. "I'm _not_ in trouble," she stated.

"I think you are."

Her eyes narrowed. "And you think by keeping me locked up here in your castle that everything's going to be just peachy? Nothing will have changed for me. I left Metropolis because I - " She stopped and let out a long breath. _Damnit!_ She lifted one hand and ran it over her hair. He was studying her, she could feel his eyes on her. She had given him way too much information. What was wrong with her? Usually she was so careful. Taking a deep breath, she shook her head. How was he managing to get to her like this?

"So," Lex began, adopting a softer tone. "We've established that you are indeed from the city. An honest truth, at last."

"Look. Lex. I'm touched, really. But I can't stay here, and not just because I don't know you, but because if I do then nothing will have changed."

"You keep saying that. Would you care to explain?"

Kennedy gave her head a hopeless shake. She had never met anyone who had so easily gotten beneath her skin the way he had. Nor had she ever had anyone so easily read her the way he was doing. He was not stupid. He had already figured most of it out anyway. _Just give him a snippet and get him off your back_. She took a breath and slowly nodded. "Okay. I had to get away because...because I was in a very...controlling...relationship."

"Boyfriend?"

Her back still to him, she took a moment before answering. "Not exactly, no. Look, it doesn't matter. I can't stay here, it would be like - "

"Nobody here will control you, Kennedy. You'll be free to come and go and do exactly as you please."

She turned around to face him. "I don't think so. I've trusted people before. What makes you so different to everyone else? If I stay, it'll be just like it was there. Don't you see? I have to be on my own, it's the only way I know. The only way to break the cycle. From now on, I'm in charge of me."

"Kennedy - "

"You think I'm going to spill my life-story just because you're being really, really kind and - "

"Your past is your business," he interrupted her. "Maybe it's time to put it all behind you and embrace the future. Kennedy...I'm not asking you to stay here in the hope that you'll spill anything. I'm just trying to be a friend. I don't want anything from you. I won't hurt or exploit you, I just want to help. _That's_ what makes me different. The choice is yours, you can walk out of here now and we forget this adventure ever happened. Or you can do yourself a favor and give yourself the chance of that fresh start you're so keen on embarking upon. It's up to you."

They looked at one another for a long moment. Lex's gaze upon her was steady. As if he were trying to prove a point. She had never met anyone like him before and she really didn't know how to cope with the barrage of emotions she was experiencing. It wasn't just his obvious kindness, or the fact that she really believed he didn't want anything in return. There was something else. Something which she had never felt before. And when it happened it had taken her completely by surprise.

_I trust him._

This enigmatic, young billionaire was offering her something that she had been offered once before by two equally nice people who had found her on the streets of Metropolis. They had taken her in. Given her a safe harbor. And for a while it had been good. Until things had taken a sudden turn. How was she to have known it would turn out to be one long and terrifying nightmare? A nightmare she had thought she would never escape from. Yet escape she had. And she had ended up here. Being offered another way out.

_But this time it feels different. It feels right. Safe. But why does it feel different? Why...?_

She didn't get a chance to answer him or say another word, as there was a knock at the door and when it opened in came a small, stout grey-haired woman wearing a black maid's uniform and carrying a silver platter. On it were her waffles, eggs and bacon and a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice. The maid didn't even cast a glance in Kennedy's direction. Obviously she was used to seeing strange girls around the place. A thought that should have unnerved Kennedy, yet didn't. What Lex did in his spare time was his business. Besides, her relationship with him was completely platonic. And no matter what she decided, that was the way it would remain.

Lex nodded at the maid. "Thank you, Maria."

Maria placed the platter down onto the table in front of the fire and turned to him. "Will there be anything else, Mr. Luthor, sir?"

"No. Thank you," he said and she left the room, closing the door behind her. Lex nodded to Kennedy. "You should eat. Before it gets cold."

She went over and sat down. Picking up the knife and fork, she began to scrape them around the plate. Lex moved over to his desk, while she ate he turned back to his laptop but found his concentration wasn't quite there. He kept glancing over at her, watching as she shook back the red curls of hair that fell into her eyes. He leaned back in his chair rolling a pen between his fingers.

He had lied to her. He had told her he didn't want anything. But he did. He wanted to get to know her, and not just because of the obvious secrets she was keeping. He had never been more intrigued with a woman his whole life the way he was with this one. A thought that completely unnerved him. As she lifted the fork to her mouth his eyes caught the dressing.

"How's the hand doing?"

She shrugged. "It's okay. Think it might need a new dressing."

"No problem." Then he noticed the strange marking, a tattoo on the inside of her other wrist. He had never noticed it before and the circles and interlocking arcs made him curious and he had to ask. "What's that on your wrist?"

She swallowed a mouthful of eggs and looked up at him, before glancing down at her wrist. "Just a tattoo," she shrugged.

"I can see that. What's the significance of it?"

"Reminds me to stay centered. It's a triquatra. Celtic symbol for goodness. It stands for justice, compassion and love."

"Fascinating," he murmured, a wry smile touching his lips. "I find it somewhat ironical that someone who tries to rip off a guy's car and break into his house should have a tattoo on her body that stands for goodness."

She eyed him, shook back her hair. "It's not like I do it every day."

"Glad to hear it," he told her, just as the internal telephone on his desk rang. He picked up. It was the butler telling him that Lana Lang was here to see him. "Okay, thank you. Show her in." He replaced the receiver and looked at Kennedy. She put down the knife and fork and picked up the juice. "So," he said, "have you thought anymore about my offer?"

She shrugged. and swallowed down some juice. "I don't know. It's a lot to take in. Plus, I can't help from thinking that it seems too good to be true."

"I thought we'd already covered that?"

"We have. But you can't blame me for being doubtful. I only just met you and you're offering me a roof over my head."

He nodded, understanding how she felt. "Okay then," he said leaning forward in his chair and resting his hands on the desk. "Let me put it a different way. Why don't you just stay here until you get yourself on your feet? Until you decide what you want to do and where you want to go. How long that takes, is entirely up to you."

She looked at him. The offer was becoming more and more appealing by the second, but part of her was still unsure. "I don't know," she sighed shaking her head. "I mean, it's not like I have any money to pay - "

Lex's laugh cut her off mid-flow and she looked at him. He smiled. "I'm sorry," he said, holding up a hand. "Kennedy, I don't expect you to pay me for letting you stay here. Incase you hadn't noticed, I'm not short of a dollar or two. If you decide to stay, you'll be a guest."

She looked down into the glass of juice she held in her hands. "I'm not a charity case, Lex."

"I know that," he said, pausing for a moment to think. An idea suddenly entered his head. "Wherever you're going, you'll need funds to get you there."

She looked back up at him and shrugged. "Well...yeah."

"So I can get you a job."

"A job?," she repeated.

"Did I stutter?," he joshed.

"Doing what?"

"I have something in mind."

"Explain how you getting me a job is supposed to make me feel any better about you letting me stay here? It's still charity no matter which way you look at it."

"You need money."

"Yeah. But a job...I can't just take a job and then quit when I decide it's time to leave."

"With this one you can. Besides do you have any other suggestions? Or were you planning on robbing a bank to solve your financial problem?"

She scowled at him. "Very funny," she murmured.

Just then there there was a knock at the door. "Come in," Lex called out. The door opened and Lana Lang poked her dark head inside.

"Hey," she said smiling, then she caught sight of the red-haired girl and looked back at Lex. "I'm not interrupting anything, am I? I can come back."

"No, Lana. Come in," Lex said waving her inside.

Kennedy watched the pretty, young girl come inside the room, she was dressed in a pair of jeans and a floral printed t-shirt, over it a long-style denim coat. In her hands she held a manila file full of papers. She smiled at Kennedy as she walked over to Lex's desk and handed them to him.

"The figures you wanted," Lana said. "I think you'll be pleased."

"Thanks," he said accepting them from her. He opened up the file. "Lana, this is Kennedy," he said, as he glanced briefly at the figures. "Kennedy, Lana Lang."

Lana turned to the red-haired girl and smiled at her again. "Hi."

"Hey," Kennedy nodded back.

"So...you're a friend of Lex's?"

Flicking through the papers, Lex smiled to himself. He knew Clark's friends were curious about his love-life and the women they had seen come and go at the mansion over the last couple years. But Lana was a nice girl and he knew her remark had been completely innocent. Kennedy was about to reply when he spoke.

"Lana, have you managed to resolve the staffing problem down at the Talon yet?," Lex said, not looking up from the papers.

Lana shook her head. "No. And Cheryl's leaving for Metropolis at the weekend."

"Right," said Lex. "Well, Kennedy here is looking for work."

Lana turned to Kennedy, whose mouth had dropped open unable to believe his presumptiousness. "Right, well," she said shrugging and giving Kennedy another warm smile, "I mean, the offer's there if you want it."

"She wants," said Lex. He lifted his head and met Kennedy's scowling eyes. He smiled at her. "When can she start?"

"How about right away?," offered Lana. "I could do with some help this afternoon, I gave Cheryl the day off to start packing and someone else called in sick yesterday, so..." She gave a shrug.

Kennedy shifted her eyes away from Lex and looked at Lana. "Thanks," she said and meaning it. "Thing is I'm not sure I'm going to be sticking around." She cast another sharp look in Lex's direction.

"Oh," Lana nodded, slightly puzzled. "Okay." She glanced back at Lex.

"Spending the afternoon at the Talon might be just what you need to help make up your mind," Lex told Kennedy with a smile.

Kennedy grit her teeth and resisted the urge to go over and wipe the smug smile right off his face.

"You going down there now, Lana?," asked Lex.

Lana nodded. "Yeah."

"Then that's settled." Lex turned his gaze back to Kennedy who was obviously displeased at his meddling, the scowl on her face said it all. He smiled again. "Kennedy?"


	9. Here In Pleasantville

**brionybee & Dark McCloudy - **thank you so much for your kind words! :) I really didn't think anyone was interested anymore, so it feels kinda good to know that you guys are still reading. Like I said I hope to update twice a week, I feel bad for letting the story slide - so I've added another chapter for you guys. I hope you enjoy it! Thanks for reviewing! :D

* * *

The Talon was having another successful day of business. Since opening up at nine that morning the cash register hadn't stopped ringing, and Lana had spent most of the early part of the afternoon in the kitchen preparing sandwiches and cutting slices of pie. She'd even managed to bake a couple batches of strawberry scones. She came through the swinging doors of the kitchen balancing a tray of fresh sandwiches against her hip, and sliding the tray down onto the counter-top she smiled over at Kennedy.

"How's it going?"

Kennedy, who had just finished serving a customer and was now preparing an espresso for another, gave her a nod. "It's good."

"So you think you might want to stick around?"

"Maybe."

"Glad to hear it," Lana smiled, bending down to begin filling the glass-shelved cooler with the sandwiches.

"Can I ask you something, Lana?," Kennedy asked. She had taken payment for the espresso and was ringing it into the cash register.

"Sure," said Lana.

"Why did you let Lex offer me a job here? I mean, this is your gig, so why?"

Lana smiled up at her. "It may be my gig, but he owns the place."

"Oh." Kennedy sounded surprised, although she didn't know why. A guy like Lex Luthor probably had his fingers in many pies. Why not a coffee-house cum bookstore? "That explains it then."

"That's why I was at the mansion earlier. Giving him the monthly trading figures. He's a silent partner, I'm the manager and it is supposed to be my responsibility to hire staff, but I got the impression that he was keen to have you work here."

"And you?"

There was another smile from Lana. "I don't have any complaints so far." She went back to the sandwiches. "So, how do you know Lex?" Her eyes immediately went back to Kennedy. "I'm not prying or anything, I was just - "

"It's okay," Kennedy said with a warm smile. She knew she hadn't been. From what little she knew of Lana, Kennedy liked her. She came over as warm and very genuine, probably the kind of girl that everybody liked on first meeting. "I tried to steal his car yesterday."

Lana looked up, astonishment and a touch of merriment in her brown eyes. "Are you kidding me?," she laughed out.

"Nope. Almost got away with it, too."

"And he thanks you by offering you work. That's my kind of punishment."

"Radical, huh?"

"I'd say," grinned Lana. "So you're staying up at the mansion?"

Kennedy jerked her shoulders. "I guess I am. For the time being," she said thoughtfully. "He kind of makes it hard to say no."

"He certainly has a way. So the two of you aren't...you know?," Lana asked with a small grin.

"Oh God, no!," Kennedy said, clearly mortified. "It's more of a...business arrangement."

"Well, business is what Lex does best," said Lana. "The two of you shouldn't have any teething problems."

"Hmm. We'll just have to wait and see," said Kennedy as another customer came to the counter. "Hi," she smiled. "What can I get you?"

Lana closed the cooler door and smiled to herself. She liked Kennedy. And no matter what her connection to Lex Luthor was, she hoped her stay was going to be a long one. She seemed like the kind of girl Lana could get along with.

* * *

"Hey, Chloe."

Chloe, who had come into the Talon a few minutes after Clark and Pete, threw her bag down on the floor by the counter and then herself down onto a stool, dropping her head in her hand. She looked thoroughly fed-up.

"I said, hey, Chloe," repeated Clark.

"Hey," she said, making it sound as if it were an effort.

Pete gave Clark a shrug. "You feelin' okay?," he asked her.

"I'm fine," she murmured.

"You don't seem fine," stated Lana who was now filling the plastic dome on the counter with jelly donuts.

"Wait. I think I know what this is." Clark snapped his fingers. "You only have yourself to blame, Miss. Sullivan. You were warned of the effects it could have on your well-being."

Chloe turned her eyes up to him. "Huh?"

"_Man of La Mancha_?," he grinned. "Russian musical? Subtitles? Too much work, remember?"

Chloe rolled her eyes and smiled. "Actually, I kind of enjoyed it."

"And another one bats for Team Pete," Pete punched the air and gave Clark a grin.

"Well, if it wasn't the movie, then what is it?," Lana asked.

"Nothing," said Chloe lifting her head and shaking it.

"You sure?," asked Lana, remembering how odd she'd been the day before.

Chloe nodded. "Yeah, I'm just...feeling a little blue. That's all."

"Yeah, I know what you mean," agreed Pete. "Only another few days and it's nose back to the grindstone," he said with a sigh, thinking about school.

"Hey, look on the bright side," said Chloe mock cheerful. "Maybe another freak meteor shower will hit and the school will get blown to smithereens."

"Chloe," said Clark quietly, while looking at Lana. He saw the sad expression come into her eyes before she dropped them and his heart ached for her.

Chloe, realising what she had said, looked immediately at Lana. "Oh, Lana," she said reaching for her friend's hand. "I'm so sorry. That was completely insensitive of me," she said squeezing her hand tightly. "I didn't - "

Lana lifted her head and gave her a weak smile. "It's okay," she said. "I know you didn't."

Just then the kitchen doors swung open and Kennedy came through pulling on her coat. "Whoa!," said Pete, immediately sitting upright on the stool. "Major hottie alert."

Clark immediately recognised the "hottie" as the girl he had helped the night before. He was surprised to see her again and wondered what she was doing here at the Talon.

"That's me all done, Lana," Kennedy said, pulling her hair out from the back of her coat.

Lana smiled at her. Her sad mood forgotten. "You've been a great help today, Kennedy. Thank you."

"I had fun," shrugged Kennedy. Her eyes fell on the gorgeous, blue-eyed guy sitting at the counter, who was looking back at her with just as much intent. Then she realised who he was. The strong-armed hunk who had saved her from death-by-branch.

"Hey," said Clark. "We meet again."

"Uh, yeah," Kennedy replied nodding her head. She thought back to the events of the night before and remembered how odd they had seemed.

Pete glanced from the "hottie" to Clark and grinned. "You two know each other?"

"I kind of met - " Clark stopped. He didn't know her name.

"Kennedy," she prompted.

"Kennedy. Yesterday."

"Kind of?," queried Chloe. "Either you did or you didn't. Which one is it?"

"Yeah. We met," Clark nodded at her. "So, uh, you work here?," he asked Kennedy.

"Guess I do," Kennedy said, casting a knowing smile in Lana's direction.

Lana smiled back at her. "Guys, you're going to be seeing a lot more of Kennedy. I think she's here to stay."

Kennedy lifted one eyebrow. "Nothing's decided."

But Lana just smiled. Then pointed at Pete. "That there is Pete." Pete lifted a hand and gave her his best smile. "And Chloe."

"Hi," said Chloe.

"And you already know Clark," Lana said.

"So, Kennedy, do you live around here?," asked Chloe. "I don't think I've seen you around school."

"I don't go to school," Kennedy told her.

"Oh. Okay," nodded Chloe. She glanced at Pete and lifted her eyebrows curiously.

"Do you need me to help out for a couple of hours tonight?," Kennedy asked Lana.

"Would you mind?"

"Like I said, it's been fun."

"Okay then. I'll see you later."

"Sure," Kennedy said and made her way around the counter. "Now there's something else I need to do." She had a few choice words for Lex and his meddling. No matter how much she had enjoyed the day at the Talon.

"Go easy on him," Lana called after her.

"Or what, he'll break?," she snorted over her shoulder. "I seriously doubt that."

Pete watched Kennedy leave and turned back to Lana with a wide grin. "Good call, Miss. Lang. She sure brightens the place up."

Lana just smiled and shook her head at him. "Thank Lex."

"Lex?," asked Clark curiously. "I thought you were in charge of hiring and firing?"

"Usually I am."

"So what's the connection?"

"It's not really my place to say. Although it isn't a secret. And I guess you'll find out soon enough."

Chloe wriggled eagerly in her seat. "Oooh, sounds intriguing. Is it weird? What do you know?"

Lana smiled. Ever the reporter was Chloe. In the Torch office at school, Chloe had an entire wall filled with weird and wonderful occurences that had taken place in Smallville since the meteor shower. It was aptly and simply named: Wall of Weird. There had once been an old photo of Lana pinned up there, taken the day she had seen her parents killed. Now she and Chloe were good friends, it had since been taken down.

"Kennedy is a friend of Lex's," explained Lana. "She's staying with him."

Chloe's eyes widened slightly. "Another of his stay-a-month girlfriends?"

"No," corrected Lana. "Just a girl who's a friend."

"Huh, figures. She actually doesn't seem his type," mused Chloe.

"She's staying with Lex?," repeated Clark. "At the mansion?"

Pete let go of a snort and shook his head. "Man, what is it with women and that guy?"

"Oh, come on, Pete," snorted Chloe. "He's loaded, magnetic, mysterious. A little bit dangerous. The guy oozes charisma and sex appeal. Any girl would have their head turned," she shrugged.

Pete's eyebrows shot up. "Including you?"

Chloe shrugged again. "I could think of worse guys."

Another snort came from Pete. He turned to Clark. "You getting this? The Lex Luthor fan-club?"

Clark, who hadn't been listening because he had been too busy thinking about the girl - Kennedy - and the fact that she was staying with Lex, only blinked at Pete. "Huh?"

Pete sighed. "Never mind."

Clark knew Lex hadn't mentioned anything about having a friend to stay. He had just visited him at the mansion only the day before and he hadn't mentioned any friend coming to stay. It wasn't like he had a right to know or anything, just because they were friends didn't mean Lex had to tell him every single detail about his life. He certainly hadn't told Lex everything about his. But that wasn't really what was bothering Clark. It was that the girl was the very same one he had helped the night before. And if she was a friend of Lex's, then how come she had been out wandering alone down Route 90 waiting for a ride to somewhere? Why hadn't Lex picked her up from wherever she had come from? Or sent out a car? It didn't make sense. And now, only hours later, she was working at the Talon and apparently staying with him up at the Luthor mansion.

Clark frowned. _None of it makes sense._


	10. Touche

_Thanks for reviewing guys!_ :) _**Dark McCloudy,** we'll get to know more about Kennedy's power soon, I promise. Right now I'm concentrating on establishing all the relationships. Hope you're still enjoying the ride!_ :)

* * *

The huge and well-stocked library within the Luthor mansion was situated on the first floor. There was a desk, a comfortable leather sofa and table, as well as a Georgian fireside chair just right for a relaxing read by the stone mantel fireplace. To the right of the library door, in the far corner, a spiral stair-case wound it's way up onto the walk-around balcony, where Lex's father had filled the wide mahogany shelves with every book imaginable. There were hundreds upon hundreds of leather bound volumes, and Lex often wondered if, before his father's blindness, he had managed to read just a quarter of them. Lex had lived in the mansion for the last couple of years and was still working his way through one wall.

After finishing up his work and enjoying a light lunch, he had decided to take a wander into the library. He hadn't been looking for anything in particular to read, just something to sit down and casually flick through. But in the half hour he had been in there he had been disturbed numerous times by the ringing of his cell phone. He had been half tempted to switch it off, but didn't, as his phone was the only way his employees and associates could make contact with him. He knew they would never bother him unnecessarily. He was up on the balcony when he heard the faint echo of a door somewhere down the long hallway being closed, and lifted his head from the book he held in his hands. Another door opened and promptly closed again. And another. Then he heard the impatient voice.

"Lex! Where in _hell_ are you? Jeez, this place should come with a map!"

He smiled to himself.

_Kennedy._

The annoyance in her voice was apparent and he wondered if it was because she was having trouble locating him. He supposed it had more to do with the events of earlier that day and the Talon.

_The latter, definitely_, he thought, amused.

The double doors to the library opened further and she came inside, taking a quick look around. Even at the height he was, he could see the look of wonder light up her face. He watched as she made her way over to one of the many free-standing bookcases at the far side of the room, lifting a hand she ran her fingers down the spines of the many books, before pulling out a red leather-bound one and opening it. So, he had discovered something else that captured this intriguing young woman's interest. She herself was like a book to him. With every turning page he discovered something new.

She tucked a red curl behind her ear and slowly turned another page of the book. The obvious annoyance she had felt only moments before was clearly forgotten. In that one brief moment, Lex was taken with her. He had never seen a more beautiful sight. His heart gave an insistent little knock. The realisation of what he had been thinking, made him draw himself up straight. Then as quickly as it happened, he dismissed it. Resting his arms on the balcony rail he leaned forward.

"Find something you like?"

Kennedy lifted her head, scanned the room and saw him up on the balcony, book in hand, smiling down at her. Her eyes narrowed and just like that, her annoyance returned. She slammed the book closed and put it back in it's place on the shelf.

"You are_ the_ most arrogant and obnoxious man I've ever met," she said, turning back to face him.

"Why, thank you."

Planting her hands firmly on her hips Kennedy scowled up at him, which only made Lex smile all the more. She was very pretty when she scowled.

"_Who_ do you think you are?," she demanded.

"I thought we already covered that? But you left out opinionated."

His obvious teasing released a short, sharp hiss of annoyance from her.

"Are you angry with me, Kennedy?," he asked, his tone light.

"Bet your ass I am. You had no right, Lex. No right at all. I hadn't even made up my mind about staying and you were pushing me into a job."

"I was helping you to make a decision."

"You were being controlling."

Their conversation of that morning was still fresh in his mind. He straightened himself up, put the book away and walked over towards the staircase. "Kennedy, I found you work. A job you're free to turn down if you want to." He made his way down the stairs. "No one's forcing you to do anything you don't want."

"So what was the little display earlier about?"

He reached the bottom stair and walked over to where she stood. "If you wanted to, you could have left here this morning, like you planned. You didn't have to go with Lana to the Talon and you didn't have to spend," he looked at his watch and smiled, "almost three hours doing something you didn't _have_ to do. You did it, Kennedy, because it was what you wanted."

She let go of a sigh. He was, of course, right. She didn't have to stay for breakfast. She didn't have to take the job. In fact, she didn't have to stay here at all. Worst thing about this was he knew that he was right.

"Fine," she relented, rolling her eyes. "So I had fun. And Lana's really sweet. But you still shouldn't have put me on the spot like that."

"You could have said no."

"You kinda make it hard not to."

He smiled and slipped his hands into his trouser pockets. "Okay," he said slowly nodding his head. "So I might have been a little presumptious this morning."

"Try out of line."

"That, too. If you want to walk out of here no one will stop you. Personally, I think you should stay. Even if it is just for a little while. You're safe here. You have a job and a roof over your head for as long as you want both of them. If you were being honest with yourself, it's what you want too."

She slowly shook her head. "You're unbelievable."

"Not arrogant? Or weird?" He lifted a hand and placed it over his heart. "Kennedy, I'm hurt," he teased.

In spite of herself, she couldn't help but smile at him. It came quickly and fully, and lit up the entire room, and it had Lex's heart doing another of those little knocks.

"Okay," she allowed. "I guess it wouldn't do any harm to give it a go for a while. I'll stay. But _just_ until I get back on my feet."

"Whatever." He smiled. "I'm glad it's settled."

She nodded and then glanced around her. "Can I just say, I've never seen so many books. It's incredible in here. If this were my house, I'd live in this room."

"Both my father and I are big readers."

"I'll read anything I can get my hands on."

He didn't doubt it, remembering the look he had seen on her face when she had first come inside. "Well," he said, "you're welcome to come in here whenever you wish."

"Thanks." She turned back to the bookcase behind and pulled out the book she had chosen before. "Mind if I take this one up to my room?"

Lex tipped the book to glance at it's cover. "_Beyond Good and Evil_ by Nietzsche." He lifted one eyebrow. "Interesting choice."

"He writes with such a measure of rage." Kennedy shrugged. "Just a little light bedtime reading," she added, making Lex smile. She headed for the door. "Oh, and one other thing, just so you know, Lana asked if I would do a couple of hours at the Talon tonight. I figured I would." Then she disappeared out of the door.

Lex nodded. She had made her mind up about staying long before she had come back here. Well, well, well. She had played him. And he had actually rather enjoyed it. Still smiling, he left the library and headed down the hall towards his office.

* * *

_Reviews make me smile!_ :)


	11. Mother Knows Best

**A/N:** _I seriously doubt anyone is still interested in this story and I wouldn't blame any of you. Incase anyone IS still reading here's another couple of chapters. Now it's time for me to eat humble pie and beg your forgiveness!  
_

* * *

Martha Kent looked up as her son came into the kitchen. She was standing at the sink washing up the dinner dishes. Clark's father was out trying to fix the engine on the old tractor. It had broken down three times that day while Jonathan had been working it. Beside her, Clark opened the refrigerator door and took out the carton of milk. He lifted it to his mouth and took a long swig. Martha was not amused. She dried her soapy hands on the towel and snatched the carton from him, then gave him that "Mom" look.

'What?' asked Clark wiping his mouth. 'It tastes better out of the carton.'

Martha put the milk back into the refrigerator. 'Where did you learn your manners from?'

'On a farm?' he grinned.

Martha looked at him and couldn't stop the faint smile that tugged at the corners of her mouth. She turned back to her dishes, pushing back her light brown hair with one hand, before beginning on the pots and pans. 'What are you up to tonight?' she asked.

Clark pulled out a chair and sat down at the big, farmhouse table. 'I might just head down to the Talon.'

'I'm sure Lana will be pleased to see you.'

'Meaning?' He knew exactly what his mother meant.

Martha smiled and shrugged her shoulders. 'Meaning exactly that.'

'Mom,' Clark sighed. 'How many more times do I have to tell you, Lana and I are just good friends.'

'You should ask her out,' said Martha matter-of-factly.

'Mom!' said Clark sharply.

Martha smiled and glanced at him over her shoulder, her blue eyes dancing merrily. 'The two of you are almost a couple anyway. The amount of time you spend together.'

'Mom, it isn't that long since Whitney died.'

'I know. But he and Lana were broken up long before he left to join the Marines. What about the Homecoming dance in a few weeks time?'

'I'm not going. I don't have a date.'

'Did you ask anyone?'

'No,' replied Clark, shrugging again. 'I figured that would be the big tip-off that I'm not going.'

'Well, you see,' Martha went on, turning back to him as she dried off her hands, 'asking someone is kind of the critical step to landing a date, Clark. Why don't you ask Lana?'

Clark eyed his mother. 'I'm not going, Mom. Besides, it's not a big deal.'

Just then the back door to the kitchen opened and Jonathan stepped through, he peeled off his jacket and hung it on the coat-stand by the door. 'Damn tractor. I think it's the starter motor,' he said heading towards the refrigerator.

Martha looked at her husband. 'Can it be fixed?' she asked.

Jonathan nodded. 'I'll need to go into town and pick up some spare parts.' He opened up the refrigerator door and took out the milk. Then he took three or four deep gulps.

Clark flashed his mother a quick smile. 'Like father, like son. Huh, Mom?'

Martha planted her hand on her hip. 'Jonathan,' she scolded.

'Sorry,' apologised Jonathan. 'But you've just done the washing-up, sweetheart. I didn't want to dirty a glass,' he said giving Clark a wink.

He grinned at his father, while Martha just shook her head. Then Clark stood up and grabbed his jacket. 'Okay, I'm going out,' he said. 'I won't be late.'

'Think about what I said,' Martha called after him as he left the kitchen and headed for the front door.

'Not going to happen,' Clark called back.

Moments later the front door opened and closed again. Jonathan sat down at the table. 'What was that all about?'

'My attempt to get our son to ask a girl to the Homecoming dance has fallen completely on deaf ears,' Martha told him.

Jonathan smiled. 'You think he should ask Lana?'

'I see the way he looks at her, Jonathan,' said Martha sliding into the chair next to her husband.

He reached for her hand and gently squeezed it. 'Would that be the same way I looked at you when we first met?'

Martha smiled warmly at him. 'It never did us any harm. Married for over twenty years.'

'But you remember how awkward and shy I was around you? You were the smart and incredibly beautiful city girl and I was just a poor boy from the country. I couldn't believe my luck that day you walked up to me.'

'I borrowed your English notes.'

'Yes you did. You borrowed my notes and stole my heart.'

Martha leaned across and pressed a gentle kiss against her husband's lips, then she drew back from him and smiled. He still didn't know to this day that she had been the official note-taker for the class and borrowing his notes had just been an excuse to meet him.

'I just wish he could show her who he really is. On the inside. But he's so scared of getting close to someone, incase they discover his secret.'

'Pete knows.'

'That's hardly the same thing.'

'Maybe he's just too shy to ask Lana out,' shrugged Jonathan. 'Or it could be because of what happened thirteen years ago.'

'The meteor shower,' nodded Martha. 'Oh, Jonathan, you don't think he blames himself for Lana's parents being killed?'

'It was that meteor shower that brought him to us.'

'He isn't to blame. He was just a child himself.'

'I know,' Jonathan sighed.

'Maybe we should talk to him,' said Martha.

Jonathan shook his head. 'No. I think we should leave any decisions he has concerning Lana up to Clark.'

Martha looked at her husband and then slowly nodded her head. But the thought of her incredibly special son blaming himself for something that wasn't his fault, stayed with her for the rest of the evening.


	12. Small Town, Big Hearts

At the Talon, Lana handed a customer his change with a warm smile and then turned back to Chloe. 'So, your earlier blue mood seems to have lifted.'

Chloe, who was sitting at the other side of the counter, sipping on a vanilla milkshake, nodded her head. 'I was just feeling sorry for myself, that's all. Sometimes I just feel so, I don't know, stifled.'

'Stifled?'

Chloe nodded. 'Don't you ever feel like that? Like you just need an injection of excitement or something to jazz up your day?'

Lana smiled. 'Oh, I get it. Small-town life too racy for the big-city girl,' she joked.

'It isn't that,' said Chloe shaking her head. 'Okay, when I first came here, I hated the place with a passion. But it kind of grows on you after a while. You know, like mildew.'

'So what is it then?'

Chloe sighed. 'When I said excitement, I meant of the romantic variety.'

Lana smiled knowingly. 'So there aren't enough cute boys in Smallville. Is that what you're saying, Miss. Sullivan?'

'There are plenty cute guys,' said Chloe. 'I just can't seem to get my hands on any of them.'

'What about the cute guy you met here yesterday?' Chloe gave her a questioning look. 'The one you couldn't take your eyes off,' Lana reminded her.

'Oh,' said Chloe. 'Yeah, him. Drew something or other,' she said waving her hand, as if dismissing it. 'He was okay,' she said casually.

'Chloe, you were drooling. I practically had to hand you a napkin.'

'I was not,' insisted Chloe rolling her eyes. 'Besides, I'll probably never see him again.'

'And if you do?'

Chloe shrugged. 'I have no feelings about it either way.'

Just then the door to the Talon swung open and Clark and Pete came inside, they were laughing about something and judging by how hard, it was obviously funny. 'Hey,' Lana said to Chloe. 'Here come two of Smallville's most eligible right now.'

'Yeah?' said Chloe, suddenly interested again. She turned and saw Clark and Pete, then looked back at Lana, a wry smile on her face. 'The Joker and Mr. Retiring?'

'Clark isn't that shy,' said Lana.

Chloe looked at her with one raised eyebrow. 'I could have meant Pete.'

Lana just smiled. They both knew whom she had meant by both remarks.

'Hey, girls,' said Pete throwing himself down on the stool next to Chloe. 'Chloe, wanna rent another seminal piece of film-making tonight?' he said casting a grin in Clark's direction.

Clark didn't bite; he just shook his head and smiled across at Lana. 'How's it going?'

'Good,' she replied with a nod.

'How about when Lana finishes up here, we head down to the video store and see what's on offer?' suggested Pete.

'I guess we could,' shrugged Lana. 'Chloe?'

Chloe pressed a hand against her chest. 'Oh, how much excitement can a girls heart take?' she said sighing and fluttering her eyelashes.

'I thought you had a good time last night?' asked Pete.

'I did,' she told him. 'But I don't want to do the _exact_ same thing again tonight. We should do something different.'

'Any ideas on that?' asked Clark.

'Well,' said Chloe thinking. 'We could buy some take-out, drive out to the Point and watch the Metropolis skyline. I have the car.'

'The Point? Yeah, because we've never done _that_ before,' said Pete shaking his head.

'Okay then, you think of something.'

'How about we take a spin into Harrisville? See what's happenin' there?'

'Okay. Cool,' nodded Chloe. 'Guys?' She looked at Lana and Clark.

'I close up at nine. It hardly seems worth it,' said Lana.

'Yeah,' agreed Clark. 'And I said I wouldn't be late home.'

Chloe groaned. 'Come on you guys! It's the last week of summer break. We should be making the most of our final days of freedom.'

'I agree,' said Lana. 'But couldn't we do something a little closer to home?'

Chloe sighed and looked at Pete. 'Looks like it's just you and me. We'll leave these square pegs to their own devices.'

'Hey!' complained Clark. 'Lana and I are not squares.'

Pete grinned at him then looked back at Chloe. 'I'm feelin' you. Wanna go now?'

Chloe slid down from the stool and grabbed her purse from the counter-top. 'Don't wait up, Lana.'

Lana smiled at her. 'Don't worry, me and my mug of cocoa will be tucked up in bed long before you get back.'

Pete slapped Clark on the back as he jumped off the stool. 'Later, man,' he grinned as he held out his arm to Chloe. She slipped her arm through his and they made for the door.

'You know, I'm beginning to wonder about those two,' said Lana as she picked up a cloth and began wiping down the counter. 'They're spending a lot of time together.'

Clark knew all about Pete's almighty crush on Chloe, he also knew the reason behind why Pete had never asked her out. He was convinced that Chloe still had feelings for _him_. Clark had assured Pete he and Chloe were just good friends but it still didn't give his friend the push he needed.

He thought about him and Lana then. And something his mother had mentioned earlier. He had no right to talk about Pete taking his time over Chloe. He had been in love with Lana for as long as he could remember and he was still no further forward in asking her out, never mind telling her how he felt.

But his situation was a little different to Pete and Chloe's. Clark didn't think someone like Lana would be interested in someone like him on anything other than a friendly level. And of course, there was that small matter of the meteor shower that had killed her parents.

'We spend a lot of time together, Lana,' he stated.

She stopped wiping to smile at him. 'You know what I mean. I think Pete likes Chloe. I see the way he looks at her when he thinks no-one is looking. It's kind of sweet.'

_Yeah_, thought Clark. Wishing that sometimes Lana would see the way _he_ looked at her, too. And that if she did, it might give him some inclination how she felt about him. If she even felt anything. And then who knew? Maybe it would also give him the courage he so desperately needed to do something about it.

Like ask her to be his date for the Homecoming dance. Before someone else did.

* * *

It was ten minutes to closing time and the Talon was beginning to wind down. It had been another busy night. Lana and Kennedy had done the entire shift on their own due to sickness and time off given. Lana had since disappeared into the kitchen to begin the massive pile of washing-up that had accumulated, while Kennedy bussed the tables. She had just finished clearing and wiping one down when she heard the voice behind her.

'Hey, need a hand?'

She turned and saw Clark and smiled at him. 'Thanks, but I'm good. Lana could probably do with some help in the kitchen though.'

'I already asked. She told me to come out here and give you a hand.'

'Well, okay then, grab a container.'

Clark picked up another of the grey plastic containers from the counter-top and began to clear the table next to the one Kennedy was busy with.

'So,' he began, as they piled dirty plates together, 'think you're going to like it here?'

'It's early days, but I guess.'

'Right,' he said. He waited a beat. 'Only I got the impression last night you weren't planning on sticking around.'

'Change of plan.'

Clark nodded and fell silent again. Her obvious reluctance not to discuss her change of plan had been duly noted. He picked up the empty cups and plates and piled them into the plastic container while Kennedy moved onto the next table. They were both quiet as they worked.

'Something on your mind, Clark?' Kennedy said after another silent moment.

He looked at her, then shook his head and shrugged. 'No.'

Not quite believing him, she nodded anyway. 'Okay.'

'It's just Lana mentioned you were a friend of Lex's.'

She looked at him. 'So there is something.'

'No,' he said a little too quickly. 'Nothing.'

'Clark, there's obviously something you want to say. Just spit it out.'

Clark sighed, then put the container down on the table. 'Last night...' he began.

'You helped me. How, I have no idea,' she said shaking her head, 'but helped me all the same.'

'Not that. Well, not exactly. I'm just a little confused. That's all.'

'You and me both,' she said.

Clark knew on instinct and from the way she was looking at him, that she was referring to how he had helped her and found himself briefly lowering his eyes from her inquiring gaze. It always made him uncomfortable how curious people could be about him. 'How long have you known Lex?' he asked.

Kennedy tossed the cloth into the container resting against her hip. 'Let's just cut to the chase. You obviously know I'm not an old friend of his.'

He lifted his eyes and nodded. 'But you're staying up at the mansion?'

'Yes.'

'So before last night, you had never met Lex?'

She gave a short laugh then and shook her head. 'Wow, you'd make one hell of a detective. I'd better watch what I say or I might incriminate myself.'

'I'm sorry,' Clark said. 'I wasn't being - '

'You were. And no, before last night I'd never met Lex. I met him for the first time yesterday. I needed somewhere to stay and he offered me a place. That's it.'

He nodded his head. 'Okay. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to sound as if I'm prying. I was just curious, that's all. I don't mean any harm, Kennedy.'

She softened slightly. 'It's okay,' she said. 'I didn't mean to come over all defensive.'

'Well, I was pretty harsh.'

'I thought you were gonna pull out a Dictaphone and start making notes,' she said, but she was smiling.

Clark laughed. 'Yeah, I did kind of put you beneath the microscope. Sorry.'

'Forget it.'

They went back to work. 'So, you from the city?' he asked and caught the faint amusement in her smile. 'I'm asking on a purely conversational level. But you don't have to answer that. We can talk about something else,' he shrugged. 'Like say...what do you think of Lex?' He pulled a frown. 'Maybe that wasn't such a good conversation move either. How about I just shut up and we clear up?'

Kennedy laughed. 'Lex seems okay. For a weird guy. Then again, there seems to be a lot of them around...'

He caught the inquisitive look in her eyes and wasn't sure if it was a joke about his ramblings or what had happened last night.

'But,' she went on, 'weird's okay. He invited me to stay at his house and found me work, so I'm thinking he can't be that bad.'

'Lex is alright,' nodded Clark.

'He a friend of yours?'

'Yeah. I mean we're not like best buddies or anything, but we are good friends. I respect him.'

'What did he do to deserve that?'

'When he first moved here people turned their nose up at him. They all thought he was just like his father. I guess in a lot of ways he is, but there's one thing that separates the two of them.'

'Which is?'

'Lionel Luthor is a businessman through and through. He's ruthless and insincere. Lex isn't like that. No matter what people say or even what he himself would like people to think, he has a heart. And he can be very sincere. He and his father couldn't be more different.'

Kennedy smiled. 'You obviously know him quite well. That was quite an assessment on his character.'

Clark shrugged. 'Not many people know the real Lex Luthor. Because not many people take the time to get to know him. They just figure that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.'

'Except for you.'

'I have no reason to not like him.'

Kennedy thought about all Lex had done for her in the short time she had known him. 'Yeah,' she agreed. 'So far, me neither. Although he can be a little presumptuous.' She reminded herself of the underhand way he had gotten her the job at the Talon.

Clark smiled at her. 'So, what do you think of the Luthor castle?'

'It's great. If you're dead and in the market for something to haunt,' she replied with a grin.

Clark laughed. 'I know what you mean. First time I went there I felt completely intimidated.'

'But it isn't haunted, right?' she asked gingerly.

He smiled and shook his head. 'Not as far as I know. I don't think any ghost would even dare try.'

'Probably wouldn't get past the security system,' said Kennedy and Clark laughed again. 'You know,' she said looking at him, 'when I first met you, I was a little freaked out. And I am still curious about you, but just for the record...I like you, Clark. You're alright.'

He smiled. 'Well, I'm pretty much a likeable kind of guy.'

'Modest too,' she noted. 'Maybe you've been hanging out with your friend the retiring Mr. Luthor a little too much.'

Clark just laughed.

* * *

'Doctor Harper?'

Elizabeth Harper lifted her eyes from the computer screen she sat working at. The door to her private office had opened and she saw her assistant, Trudy Tanner standing there, a mousy young woman in her mid-twenties with long, frizzy brown hair and thick-rimmed spectacles. Trudy was no great-looker, but she was incredibly smart and very loyal to her employer.

'What is it, Trudy?' Elizabeth asked impatiently.

Trudy stepped into the office and closed the door behind her. She took a step towards Elizabeth's desk. 'I just took a phone-call from Ethan Cassidy. He couldn't get through on your private line.'

Ethan Cassidy was another loyal associate of the Harper Institute for Gifted Children. Since that Carpenter girl's disappearance, Elizabeth had put Ethan in charge of the case to find her. He had been working around the clock the last few days, but still there was no sign.

'Does he have news for me?' She sounded hopeful.

Trudy pushed her thin, pale hands into the pockets of her lab-coat. 'He just called to give you an update. There's still no sign of her, Doctor.'

Elizabeth sighed. _Damn._ How hard was it to find one stupid, young girl? It had only been a few days; she couldn't have gotten that far.

'Okay, Trudy,' she said nodding her head. 'Thank you.'

Trudy nodded her head and left the office, closing the door quietly behind her. She started back down the corridor towards the main lab when Royce Harper appeared from one of the many smaller labs along this particular section. He knew Trudy had been in to see his wife and there was no doubt in his mind what it had been about.

'Trudy,' he said stopping her as she passed him. 'Is there any news?'

Trudy peered up at him through her spectacles and chewed on her bottom lip. She knew he meant the missing girl. Doctor Harper had told her to report all news on the girl to her and only her. Trudy had thought it odd that the Doctor didn't want her husband informed of any information, but she was being paid to do a job and she was after all Elizabeth Harper's assistant, not Professor Harper's.

'I can't - '

'I just want to know if the girl has been located, that's all, Trudy,' Royce interrupted.

'I'm not obliged to say, Professor,' she said quickly shaking her head.

Royce knew his wife had taken it upon herself to front the search for Kennedy Carpenter, but it boiled his blood the way she was keeping him out of the loop. He knew why of course. She had been right the other day when she had said he had a soft spot for the miraculous young girl. Ever since he had seen her that very first time in that diner in Metropolis. Back then he hadn't known anything about her. Certainly not what gifts she held. All he had seen was the pretty young girl with the flame-red hair and the distant look in her wide eyes. She had reminded him so much of his younger sister.

Amelia had had the same beautiful flame-red curls and hazel eyes, too. She had been more than a sister to Royce, she had been his best friend. She had died only a week after celebrating her eighteenth birthday. A drunk-driver had smashed into her as she walked home after a party with a group of her friends. She had died instantly.

Royce had gone out to that diner a few more times after that and had seen Kennedy sitting there in the same booth by the window, a sketch-pad in front of her and the same sad look in her eyes and he had wanted to help her. Then one day he had followed her down a quiet back-alley and that was when he had discovered what she could do. He had watched in amazement as she had tried in vain to break into the abandoned warehouse. She obviously needed a place to stay. The lock had been old and very rusty and Royce couldn't believe his eyes when he had seen her take a quick glance around and then look back at the lock. The next thing he knew the lock had broke and fell to the ground with a loud clink.

He had never witnessed anything like it. He had researched and studied people with telekinesis - the ability to move things with the mind. But in all his years as a scientist he had never come across anyone with the ability. For him it was an exciting opportunity and a scientific breakthrough. Most believed that telekinesis was all hype. He had seen with his own eyes that it wasn't. And he knew his wife, who was also a scientist, would be just as excited by his discovery. Within two days, they had taken the girl in off the streets and into their care.

Within weeks Royce had realised his mistake.

Elizabeth had always been more ambitious, more ruthless when it came to her work. She had worked with the girl for days non-stop, delving into her mind, performing experiments and wanting, needing to find out more. She did whatever it took to retrieve her information. Royce had hated what she was doing to the girl. He despised the way Elizabeth insisted she be kept drugged during the night. She had always feared that the girl might escape and the Institute would lose the most incredible experiment ever to come through it's doors.

Security was tight at the Institute, it had to be, and they had kids in there that could read minds and easily crack the security system codes to escape. Along with the hi-tech security, they had installed guards on 24-hour stand-by with stun-guns ready to fire a tranquilliser into anyone who managed to bypass the system. The dart wouldn't hurt them; just knock them out for a couple of hours. It was a mystery how Kennedy had managed to escape when she had. And now, Elizabeth was concerned that the Institute's cover would be blown. And prison was one place she would not care to visit. Which was why it was imperative that the girl be found.

Royce watched as Trudy disappeared into the main lab, the door swinging shut behind her. He sighed heavily. There were days he wished he had never bothered starting the place up. It had been almost three years now. And it had been his dream. As a scientist he had wanted a school, a school where kids with special gifts could attend and receive the care and education they wouldn't get at an ordinary state school and the guidance they needed to grow and understand how 'gifted' they were. And for two and a half years everything had been good. The children were well-cared for and happy and the scientists got the research they needed. Everyone was happy.

But then Kennedy Carpenter had arrived and Elizabeth had grown greedy and cold, and ruthless in her quest to find answers to her experiments. Within six months the Institute had been turned around. Security was tightened, keeping the students drugged had been introduced and the school was now a prison to it's 30+ 'special' students. Elizabeth was in charge now. On the outside she appeared normal and genuinely cared for the children they brought in. But she was a monster. And with each unfolding day Royce found himself getting deeper and growing more and more dejected.

His dream was turning into a nightmare.


	13. Big Hearts, Small Town

Lex sat behind the desk in his office, scanning the computer screen before him. He had his email program set up to alert him whenever there was breaking news that might affect the many stocks and shares he had an interest in. In the past he had often kept his computer on stand-by and had missed some great buy opportunitites on stocks. He tapped the mouse and opened the flashing icon in the top right of the screen. He gave a satisfied smile. Everything was running smoothly. The stocks were growing in price and his money had been invested wisely.

The door to his office opened further and he looked up as Kennedy's red curls appeared around the door. Three nights had passed since she had been living here and Lex was becoming more and more aware of the insistent little knocks his heart gave whenever she smiled or came into a room.

'Hey,' she said giving him one of those aforementioned smiles. 'Not disturbing you, am I?'

He shook his head. 'No. Come in.'

She stepped inside and Lex ran his gaze over her. She was wearing the same green combats and a black t-shirt with a bright red slogan that read: **Warning! Next Mood Swing: Two Minutes** It made Lex smile at how appropriate it was. Even though, he still found himself wondering what she'd look like in a dress.

'Kennedy, why don't you ask Lana for an advance on your wages?' he ventured, leaning back in his chair.

She was standing by the fireplace and confused by the odd question, her brow knit together. 'For what? There's nothing I need.'

He ran his eyes over her clothes before lifting them back to her face. She gave him one of those pointed looks he was growing so fond of as she folded her arms across her chest.

'There is nothing wrong with my clothes. They're versatile and they go with everything,' she told him indignantly.

'I didn't say there was anything wrong with them.'

'Leaving in a hurry meant I didn't have time to pack the designer dresses.'

He smiled deeply. 'Now that's a shame.'

She lifted an eyebrow. 'Meaning?'

'Just an observation.' He leaned forward in his chair. 'Why don't you let me give you some cash so you can - '

'That won't be necessary,' she said cutting him off. 'I don't want your money, Lex. I'm not a charity case and I'm no leech.'

'I'm aware of that. But had you of allowed me to finish, I was going to add you can pay me back when you receive your first wage.'

'I'm fine,' she said shaking her head. 'And my clothes are fine. I can't afford to waste money on things I don't need.'

He shrugged casually and let it go. 'Just a thought. So, you're working at the Talon tonight?'

'I'm going down there now,' she told him. 'That's what I was coming to tell you.'

'Do you need me to pick you up?'

'No. I'm fine.'

He nodded. He had offered to pick her up the night before too. She had insisted then that she was fine. He knew very well she was capable of looking after herself, but the nights were drawing in and by the time the Talon closed up at around nine, the country roads of Smallville were growing quiet. And weird things began to happen after dark. Plus, it was a good fifteen minute walk from the town to the mansion. Not that he had ever walked it. But Clark had once told him when he and his friend Chloe Sullivan had one day come to the mansion to interview him for the local school paper.

'Just be careful,' he told her as she turned and made for the door.

She stopped and quirked an eyebrow at him. 'Watch it, Lex. A girl might think you're starting to care,' she joked. Then she gave him a wink that Lex could only describe as saucy and turned and left.

He sat back, smiling, his elbows resting on the arms of the chair. He had been caring since day one. He just didn't understand it. It was strange. He never let his emotions get the better of him.

_Never._

He had offered to pick her up out of concern, that much was true. But there was another reason. There was a part of him that kept thinking when she went out she might not come back. And if that happened, Lex wasn't certain how it would affect him. All he knew was that he didn't care to find out.

* * *

'Anyone ask you to the dance?' Pete asked Chloe as they sat at a table in the Talon.

'Not yet,' Chloe replied flatly.

'Oh,' said Pete surprised and hopeful all at the same time. 'Well, I mean...' He had begun to stammer. Why did he always do that when he made any attempt to ask her out? He was worse than Clark when he was around Lana.

Chloe lifted her blue eyes and looked at him. 'What is it?'

'I just thought that if it nothing pans out with you-know-who, then - '

'Pete!' Chloe cut him off. 'Would you take a commercial break from the soap opera in your head? I'm no longer interested in Clark!'

Pete nodded his head. 'Oh. Okay. Well, your vehement denial is duly noted.'

Chloe sighed at him and ran her fingers through her short blonde hair. 'Besides it's just a dumb Homecoming dance. It's no big deal.'

'So you're not going?'

Chloe looked at him in exasperation. 'Well, let's see. No-one's asked me, so yeah, that would accomplish the not going.'

Pete smiled. Chloe's intelligence and enthusiasm for life, coupled with her dry sarcasm and great looks, were a real turn-on for him. He decided to take a deep breath and plunge right in. 'Well, maybe we could go together,' he casually suggested.

Chloe raised one blond eyebrow and smiled. 'You and me?'

'Not as a date-date thing,' he added quickly on seeing the amusement in her eyes. 'But, you know, more like a friend-friend thing.'

Before Chloe had a chance to respond Clark came up behind them. 'Hey guys,' he said.

_ Sometimes Clark's timing is completely off,_ Pete thought with an inward groan.

'Hey, Clark,' Chloe beamed at him. 'What's happening?'

'Thought I'd just take a wander down. There's nothing doing back home,' he shrugged.

'I know what you mean,' Chloe nodded. 'These last few days of summer break, it's like everyone's in limbo.'

Clark nodded and then caught sight of Lana behind the counter; he turned back to Pete and Chloe. 'I'll catch you later,' he said and trotted off towards her. 'Hey,' he said throwing himself down onto a vacant stool.

'Hey,' Lana smiled at him. 'Is this a friendly visit or do you want to buy something?'

'I'll have a caramel latte.'

'Coming up.'

'You on your own tonight?' he asked looking around him, while she prepared his drink.

'Kennedy's in the kitchen,' she said. 'She is amazing. I don't know how I've coped for so long without her. I'm really enjoying having her here.'

'You think the two of you might become good friends?'

Lana smiled. 'I'd like to think so,' she nodded. 'She's really nice and she has a wicked sense of humor. She must _really _be brightening things up at the Luthor mansion.'

Clark smiled. 'I'd say. Hey, I have an idea. Why don't we all go out somewhere? We could invite Kennedy. We could go into Harrisville and check out what movies they're showing.'

Lana nodded and smiled. 'I think that's a great idea. When?'

Clark shrugged. 'How about tomorrow night?'

'Okay,' said Lana. 'I'll need to clear the cover for this place, but it shouldn't be a problem.'

'Great,' smiled Clark and turned around on the stool to where Pete and Chloe sat. 'Movies, tomorrow night, Harrisville?'

Pete nodded. 'Yeah, I'm up for that. Chloe?'

'Cool. I think they're showing the new Vin Diesel movie,' she said with a grin. He was one of her favorite all-time cute action movie-stars. She stood up then and went over to Lana.

Pete rolled his eyes. 'Great,' he huffed. 'Another dangerous, bald guy to compete with. As if it isn't bad enough having superboy around,' he said eyeing Clark.

Clark smiled at him. 'Come on, Pete. You know Chloe and I are just friends. I wish you'd get over it. Besides, you're a big Diesel fan yourself and you know it. Besides, maybe he wears a toupee in this movie,' he added with a mischievous grin.

'Yeah,' said Pete dryly. 'That's real funny, Clark. Ha, ha.'

Clark just smiled.


	14. Secret

Kennedy glanced at her watch. Almost nine-fifteen. Another twenty minutes and she and Lana would be done here. While Kennedy bussed, Lana washed dishes in the kitchen. Same as the night before. It wasn't like an arrangement or anything, it was just the way it had happened. Besides, Kennedy much preferred clearing the tables and re-stocking the coolers, while Lana washed-up and prepared fillings for the sandwiches the next day.

While she set about filling up the cooler with cold drinks, she thought about how much she had enjoyed the last couple of days in Smallville. It had all happened so quickly and so easily, it were almost as if she'd been living here her whole life. Which would no doubt make it harder to leave when the time came.

She sighed then. This was exactly why she hadn't wanted to get settled anywhere. She knew it wasn't going to be forever. Yet, she was already forming a bond with the small, sleepy town and making new friends.

Lana had asked her about the movies the next night and at first she had been tempted to say no. But she liked Lana and Clark and their friends. And no matter how long she was going to be here, it was nice to have someone to talk to and enjoy a laugh with. So she had said she would. And surprisingly, she found herself looking forward to it.

It was nice the way they had welcomed her into their group. Infact, since she had showed up here, everyone had gone out of their way to do just that. It made her think about Lex then. And when she did, she couldn't ignore the way her stomach seemed to flutter. She knew she was attracted to him. Although she didn't know why. He was so completely different to any guy she'd ever known before and not the usual type of guy she was interested in. Maybe that was it. Because he 'was" so different. A little bit like her.

One thing she did know was that it wasn't the money. Definitely not. Kennedy had no interest in that whatsoever. Even given the fact that she had attempted to steal his sports car. She wasn't sure what it was. It could be the enigma thing. Or even the fact that he had simply took her into his life and offered his support. Either way, whatever it was, she was grateful to him. Maybe that was it, she was mistaking gratitude for something else. Something deeper.

She knew he was curious about her, maybe as much as she was about him. But he hadn't asked questions or made any remarks. He had stuck to his end of the bargain. She knew he wanted to ask, but the fact that he respected her privacy and hadn't, made her warm to him even more. And made her even more curious about him.

She wondered what he was doing right now, up there in his big, old castle and found herself looking forward to seeing him. Then she quickly scolded herself and dismissed it, reminding herself that she couldn't afford to get emotionally involved. Least of all with Lex. With anyone. Besides, he had made it clear that first night he wasn't interested, that he liked his women more feminine. At the time it had made her furious, now strangely enough it made her smile.

He was arrogant, obstinate and far too presumptuous for his own good. But she liked him. She stood up from the cooler and wiped her hands on the seat of her combats. She liked his voice. Smooth and gentle all at the same time. Plus, he had really great eyes. They were the color of ice-blue, but they weren't cold. When he smiled, they seemed to light up and sparkle. Very appealing.

_Okay, Kennedy. Get a hold of yourself, girl._

Pulling out the step-ladder from the nearby store cupboard she unfolded it behind the counter, climbed up to the top rung and began to wipe the huge mirrored panels that hung behind the cash register. Lana said they needed doing, so she had offered. She could hear Lana in the kitchen, dishes clinking and knocking together. The scraping of cutlery as she dropped them into the holder on the side of the sink. In the background the juke-box played faint music and Kennedy hummed along to it while she worked. She stretched up to reach the very top of the panels and as she did she lost her balance and the cloth fell to the floor as she grabbed the top of the step-ladder to right herself.

She muttered to herself and turned to look down at the cloth lying on the floor below. She sighed. _What's the use of having an ability if you don't use it?_

She could still hear Lana busy in the kitchen, so she looked at the cloth, concentrated and a second later it drifted up off the floor below. She held out her hand to grab it. Then she turned back to the panels and began wiping, humming along to the music. She immediately stopped again when she saw the reflection of the tall figure of Clark standing behind her at the entrance. The surprised look on his face said it all. He had obviously seen.

_Uh-oh._

She hadn't even heard him come in. She was just about to turn and try to make a corny joke out of it when she slipped and this time she did lose her balance. She fell back and was just about to hit the floor with a hard and painful thud, when the same strong arms that had rescued her only three nights before, caught her as she fell into them.

Kennedy looked up into his clear blue eyes and blinked. One moment he had been standing at the doorway and the next...

'Whoa,' she said quietly, a slight furrow in her forehead. _How does he keep doing that_?

'You okay?' Clark asked looking at her.

'I'm fine,' she replied. 'Thanks to you.'

'It's okay. You could have given yourself a nasty knock if you'd hit the floor.'

'Yeah,' she murmured, thinking how incredibly strong his arms really were. Realising she was still in them, she said, 'You can put me down now.'

'Oh. Right,' he nodded. He put her down and she smoothed a hand over her hair. Clark's gaze ticked to the cloth and when he looked back at her, saw she was looking right back at him. Kennedy knew he was going to ask and because she hadn't thought of anything corny to say, she jumped in first.

'You're becoming a regular knight in shining armour,' she said.

'It's how I earn extra cash,' he joked.

She smiled with him. But she wasn't convinced. 'Right. Except...I'm starting to think that you're anything but regular, Clark,' she told him. 'How did you get from over there by the door to here in less than a second?'

Clark swallowed and then gave a casual shrug. 'I'm the star member of the track team?' he joked weakly.

She had said something very similar when Lex had caught her trying to hotwire his car. It only made her more convinced that Clark was hiding something, too. 'Nobody's that fast,' she said shaking her head.

'Well, hey, what about that little trick of yours? That was pretty cool too, right?' he said with a half-smile.

They were trying to take the heat off each other. She turned away from him and began to fold up the ladder again. She wasn't in the mood for anymore high-jinx. She put the ladder back into the cupboard and looked back at him.

'What are you doing here anyway?' she wanted to know. 'It's past closing time.'

'I thought Lana might want me to walk her home. You too.'

She gave a short laugh and shook her head. 'Boy, you really are a knight, Clark Kent.'

He had been going to ignore it, for her sake more than anything else, but he decided to jump in with both feet. 'Look, Kennedy,' he took a step towards her, 'what I saw...I just want you to know that - '

'What you saw?'

'I won't tell anyone,' he assured her.

'There's nothing to tell.'

She was trying to dismiss it. 'We both know what I saw, Kennedy.'

She let out a long sigh and shook her head. She licked her lips. 'Okay, what you saw...it was nothing. I just, it's just something that I...' The words wouldn't come. She sighed again.

Clark understood her struggle. 'It's okay. Kennedy, you can trust me. As you get to know me, you'll soon figure that out for yourself.'

'Spoken like a true secret-holder,' she said.

They looked at one another. There was an exchange between them. An instant understanding. Still, Clark felt the need to draw himself up, the way he usually did when someone got close to discovering the truth about him.

'Kennedy, whatever it is that _that _was, it has nothing to do with me. And I hope it won't affect our friendship.'

'And your little secret has nothing to do with me either. Right?'

'I think we can trust each other, Kennedy.'

She slowly nodded. 'So you are keeping a secret?'

He looked at her, lowered his eyes briefly before looking back at her. She saw the mixed look in his eyes and realised she shouldn't have said that. She knew what it was like to keep something hidden from the world.

'Okay,' she relented. 'Then we have an understanding.' She moved away from the store cupboard.

'Kennedy, if ever you need to talk,' he said quietly.

They both realised that what had happened tonight had taken their new friendship onto another level. They both knew that what they had seen was by no means normal or out of the ordinary. They both knew that trust didn't come easy. But maybe this was one of those times when it did. They both hoped so. They both had a lot to lose.

She just nodded her head, then turned and disappeared into the kitchen.

* * *

Martha Kent placed her hands gently on her son's shoulders and cocked her head to the side to look at him. 'You okay?'

Clark was sitting at the breakfast table the next morning and he had been unusually quiet. In fact, since he had gotten home from the Talon the night before he hadn't had much to say to either of his parents. And that wasn't like him.

He twisted in his chair to look up at his mother and gave her a reassuring smile. 'Sure, Mom.'

'Are you sure?' she asked. 'You've been quiet all morning.'

'Yeah,' said Jonathan as he helped himself to another slice of toast. 'The silence is deafening,' he joked.

'I'm fine,' he assured the both of them.

'Nothing on your mind?' asked Martha not convinced. She sat down at the table and began to eat her breakfast.

Clark shrugged. 'No. Nothing.'

It was, of course, a lie. He hadn't been able to get Kennedy out of his thoughts and what had happened the night before. He had come home last night after walking Lana back to Chloe's, Kennedy had insisted she was okay walking herself and he had spent a good couple of hours sitting at his computer in his room, searching the web for answers. He had literally stumbled upon a site which told him all about telekinesis. The ability to move things with the mind. It was the only explanation as to what he had seen Kennedy do. She had to be telekinetic. Either that or she was a witch. Which he seriously doubted. Although in Smallville, anything could happen.

He had absorbed article after article about other known cases throughout the world. There weren't many. It was a very rare thing and according to scientists, telekinesis was a psychic phenomenon often triggered by a period of extreme emotional distress in the person's life. It mainly affected children of a young age, but it had also been known to affect full-grown adults too.

It had made Clark stop and think. And he began to wonder about Kennedy. She was around his age, maybe a little older and it seemed that she had no-one. No family as such. It had made him think back to the night he had met her and how she had seemed. As if she were running away from something. It could possibly be, that she had escaped a terrible home-life or it could be something else entirely. He had wanted to ask his parents if they had ever heard or known of anyone with telekinesis, but then had ruled against it. They would probably want to know why and he couldn't tell them. He had told Kennedy he wouldn't tell anyone. And that included his parents. No matter how understanding and trusting they were. He wouldn't break his word.

'What are your plans for today, Clark?' Martha asked as they ate.

But Clark wasn't listening, he was still thinking about Kennedy. Martha looked at her husband across the table. Jonathan smiled and shook his head.

'Teenagers,' he said. 'Clark. Hey, Son.'

'Huh?' blinked Clark. 'Did you say something?'

'Welcome back to earth. Again,' Jonathan joked, as he put a forkful of eggs into his mouth.

Martha smiled at her husband and then put down her knife and fork. She looked at Clark and he saw the worried look in her face. 'Are you certain there's nothing you want to tell us? Or talk about?'

'I'm fine, Mom,' he told her in a gentle, reassuring tone. 'I guess I'm just a little tired.'

'Is that possible?' she asked glancing at her husband. Clark's strength and power was growing by the year. Maybe his developing powers were taking it out of him. She had never heard him complain of being tired before.

Jonathan smiled. 'Even superheros need a little RnR, Martha.'

Clark stood up then, the chair scraping the floor beneath. 'I'm all done,' he said. 'I think I'll make a start on my chores then head out. Is that okay?'

Martha reached up and placed her hand on his arm, giving it a gentle rub. 'Of course it is, honey.'

'Okay, I'll start in the barn,' he said then he turned and left the kitchen by the back door.

Martha watched him go and watched as the door closed behind him. Jonathan knew she was concerned. Their son may well be some kind of superhero with superpowers, but he was still a teenager. With teenage problems.

'Martha,' said Jonathan gently. She turned and looked at him and he gave her a reassuring smile. 'He's fine. If there's anything troubling him, you know he'll come to us. He always has in the past.'

'Maybe when he was a child, yes. But, Jonathan, he's not a kid anymore. He's changing all the time.'

'He's always been changing,' Jonathan pointed out.

'Do you think he's having problems in school and isn't looking forward to going back?'

Jonathan smiled. 'He's a grade A student, Martha.'

Martha sighed. 'Okay, then maybe it's something else. You know what teenagers are like. Maybe...' She stopped and smiled then. 'Maybe it's a girl.'

Jonathan nodded his head and smiled again. 'She says hopefully.'

'Maybe he's plucking up the courage to ask Lana to Homecoming,' Martha went on.

'Well, whatever it is, I'm sure he has it all under control. And if he hasn't, he'll come to us,' said Jonathan picking up his coffee. 'He may well be older, but that's one thing that isn't going to change. You know Clark tells us everything. If there's one thing about this family, it's that we don't have any secrets from one another.'

Martha nodded and smiled. 'You're probably right. I'm worrying unnecessarily.'

* * *

After waking that morning Kennedy had taken a long soak in the tub, washed her hair and then dressed, before heading downstairs to the kitchen to grab a bite to eat. Constance the cook was in there and the small, plump woman in her mid-sixties turned and smiled when she saw Kennedy come through the door.

Connie, as she was known to the other staff members, had seen many a pretty girl come and go in the years she had worked here at the Luthor mansion. But none like this one. This one was different. The others had all been pretentious and very superficial and none of them had taken the time to come down to the kitchen to eat breakfast. Probably thought it was beneath them. Apart from the first morning Kennedy had stayed with Lex, she had eaten in the kitchen. Partly from not wanting to bother him while he was working and mostly from refusing to ring down and order like she was staying in some sort of swish hotel and treat the staff as if they were there at her beck and call. Connie also knew from one of the maids that, unlike the others, young Kennedy had her own room within the mansion. And that she had insisted on making up her own bed and cleaning out her own bathroom. There was obviously no romance between Mr. Luthor and the lovely girl.

_Which_, Connie thought, _was a real shame._

She hoped Mr. Luthor could see in her what she could. She was a lovely young girl. And that young man could do with a little bit of love and stability in his life. She hoped that now Kennedy was here, he might put an end to his playboy ways and maybe even settle down.

'Hey, Connie,' Kennedy smiled at her as she came inside.

'Good morning, dear,' replied Connie. 'Bacon and eggs?'

'I can do it,' said Kennedy heading for the refrigerator.

Connie knew she could and that she didn't have a problem with it. But this was one of Mr. Luthor's friends that Connie didn't mind cooking for.

'You just sit down and I'll have them rustled up before you can say abracadabra.'

Kennedy pulled the juice carton from the top shelf and smiled at her as she closed the refrigerator door. 'You don't have to cook for me, Connie. I'm very capable.'

Connie took a step towards Kennedy and then pinched her cheek with her short, fat fingers making Kennedy smile. Connie reminded her a lot of her grandmother. She felt a pang of emotion.

'I know that, dear,' said Connie. 'But I want to. Now sit.' She took the juice from her and began to pour a glass.

Kennedy sighed and sat down at the breakfast bar, then dutifully accepted the glass of juice from her with a smile. 'Thank you.'

'So, what are you up to today, dear?' said Connie turning her back to take two eggs from the refrigerator.

'I'm not working today, so maybe I'll just hang around here. I don't know,' Kennedy shrugged.

Connie begin whipping up the eggs at such a speed that it reminded Kennedy of Clark. And how fast he had moved the night before when she had been careless with her power. She wouldn't let that happen again. From now on, she would keep it under wraps. She was curious about Clark. But maybe not as curious as she was about Lex...

She had come back from the Talon last night and found him in his study, his stereo system pumping out music. He had asked her how her night had been and she had been tempted to ask him about Clark. But then she figured that Lex probably didn't know anything. Even if they were friends. So instead she had challenged him to a game of billiards and beaten him, much to her amusement and his surprise. He had demanded a rematch. And again she had beaten him. He decided it was best to give up now, while he still had a small amount of pride left and they had talked for a little while about nothing in particular. Around one in the morning, she had left him in his office and went up to bed. She had lain awake for almost a half hour thinking about him. Wishing there was something she could do to repay him for all he had done. But knowing there was nothing she could give him that he didn't already have. And that there was nothing he wanted from her anyway.

She had been living in the mansion a few days now and she suddenly realised that she really didn't know that much about him. Apart from the obvious. He was the son of a billionaire businessman, who was easy on the eye and as bald as the day was new.

While Connie whipped, Kennedy sipped at her juice. She put the glass down on the granite top and watched as she expertly poured the eggs into a pan and began to beat them.

'Connie?'

'What is it, dear?' asked the cook.

'Do you like working for the Luthors?'

'I don't have any complaints. I know there are a lot of people around here that do, but they've always been good to me. After my husband died Mr. Luthor offered to help me with the burial. My Stanley hadn't left me much to live on. He was a good man, but he liked to gamble.' She sighed then. 'Still, I was grateful for Mr. Luthor's offer.'

'Did you accept?'

It seemed like a personal question, but one Kennedy knew Connie wouldn't be offended by.

'Yes, I did,' she said and turned to look at her. 'And do you want to know something else? He never asked for me to pay it back. Or to take a cut in wages.'

'That was nice of him,' said Kennedy, nodding.

'Yes. It was.'

'When you say Mr. Luthor...you're talking about Lex's father, right?'

Connie turned away from the eggs, and smiled at her. 'No, dear. I'm talking about young Mr. Luthor, Lex. My husband only passed away six months previous. Mr. Luthor senior, wasn't even around. He doesn't spend much time at home.' She clucked as though she was saddened by it and went back to the eggs.

Kennedy took a sip of the juice. Thinking how incredibly nice that was of Lex to do for his employee. To him, what the burial cost had probably been a drop in the ocean, but to Connie it would have been a year in wages. Kennedy knew it meant a lot to the older woman.

It was another point in Lex's favor. Another to add to the list that was growing steadily by the day.

* * *

Lex had been holed up in his study working most of the morning and Kennedy, after helping Connie out in the kitchen for an hour or two, had decided to head into town. She knew Lana was working at the Talon until the afternoon and decided to drop in. When she arrived, a little after one, Lana was bustling around serving customers and when she saw Kennedy come through the door, gave her a warm smile as she dropped off a platter of coffee and pie to a table.

'Hey,' she said. 'Didn't I give you the day off?'

Even under stress, Lana always looked great. It was almost as if nothing phased her. 'I didn't have anything to do.' She looked around her. 'Looks like you could do with a hand.'

'Oh no, you don't,' said Lana. 'A day off is a day off.'

'I don't mind.'

'I do,' Lana said firmly making her way back toward the counter. 'Come on, I'll shout you a soda and a slice of pie.'

Kennedy followed her over and sat down on a stool while Lana took the chocolate mud pie from the cooler and cut a slice.

'You seen Clark today?' she asked her.

Lana shook her head. 'No. Oh, which reminds me, I called Skip earlier to ask him about covering tonight. No can do, I'm afraid. So, unless I can get someone else to cover, I may not be able to make the movies.'

'Shame, I was really looking forward to it.'

Lana pushed the slice of pie towards Kennedy. 'Me too. But, hey, you can still go with Clark and the others.'

'I guess,' Kennedy shrugged.

Lana handed her a fork. 'You okay?'

Kennedy sliced into the pie and nodded her head. 'Yeah.'

'You seem a little distracted,' Lana noted.

'I'm okay,' said Kennedy putting a piece of the pie into her mouth.

'Is it Lex?'

Kennedy looked up at her and swallowed the mouthful of chocolate pie. 'Lex?' she said licking the corners of her mouth.

Lana grinned. 'You know, wealthy playboy, owns a castle up in - '

'Very funny,' smiled Kennedy cutting her off. 'Why would you think it was Lex?'

Lana shrugged as she began to pour her a glass of cherry soda. 'Just wondered.'

'Everything's great with Lex.'

'Really?' enquired Lana with one eyebrow arched.

Catching the faint amusement twinkling in Lana's eyes Kennedy shook her head. 'What I meant was - '

Lana laughed. 'I'm just teasing.'

'Do you know much about him?' Kennedy asked taking a sip of soda.

Lana shrugged. 'Not much. Just that he and his father are influential, incredibly wealthy and that they own most of the property and farm-land in Smallville. Clark's a lot closer to him than anyone I know.'

'So you don't know anything about him personally?'

'No. Why the interest?' smiled Lana.

Kennedy shook her head. 'Oh, I'm just curious, that's all.'

'Lex is pretty much a closed book. For all his status and wealth he's quite a private person. I guess if you want to know any personal stuff, you should just ask him,' Lana said with a grin, as she gave the tray on the counter a quick wipe.

Kennedy shot her a knowing look. 'Lana, I have no interest in Lex other than purely as a friend.'

'Okay,' she said not entirely convinced.

'I don't.' Kennedy put another piece of pie to her mouth and then stopped halfway when she saw Lana's knowing grin. She lowered the fork. 'What's that look for?'

'You like him,' said Lana matter-of-factly.

Kennedy sighed and shook her head. 'I do not. Well, no, I do. Just not in the way you think.'

'Hey, I'm not criticising. I mean, you know, what's there not to like? He has a lot going for him. And all the qualities a girl looks for in a mate.'

Kennedy groaned. 'Please.'

'Hey, hey,' said a chirpy voice from behind them. It was Chloe and Kennedy was glad of the interruption, it gave her a chance to 'not" think about Lex. She was thinking about him a little too much lately.

Lana gave her a smile as she sat down. 'Hey, how's it going?'

'It's going and that is the main thing,' said Chloe. 'So we still on for tonight?' she said looking from Lana to Kennedy.

'I may have to catch Vin Diesel in action another time,' replied Lana. 'I might not be able to get this place covered.'

'Too bad,' said Chloe. Then she groaned. 'Vin Diesel. Yum. What is it about that guy?' she said almost dreamily.

'When it comes to action heros I kind of prefer Bruce Willis myself,' said Kennedy.

Chloe nodded. 'He's cute. But way too old. And I'm pretty certain he has plugs.'

The Talon doors opened and a group of guys came through it, laughing, as they found a vacant table. Amongst them was the cute guy Chloe had been ogling a few days previous. Lana glanced at Chloe, grinning.

'What about hair color, Chloe?' she asked. 'Any preference?'

Chloe looked at Lana. 'Hair color? Can't say I mind,' she shrugged.

'Dark blond maybe? With just the slightest curl?'

'I guess.'

'Kind of tall, well-built?'

Chloe frowned. 'What is this, Matchmate-dot-Com?'

Lana smiled. 'Could be.'

'Huh?'

'Hey,' said a warm, sexy voice from behind Chloe. 'It's Chloe, isn't it?'

Chloe turned and saw the gorgeous Ryan Phillippe look-alike she'd met only a few days ago, standing there looking as gorgeous as he had been before. Her heart skipped a little. 'Yeah,' she smiled at him. 'It's Drew, right?'

He nodded and smiled at her. 'Nice to be remembered.'

'Right back at you. So what brings you back here?'

'Actually I was kind of hoping to see you again.'

'Oh,' was all she managed to say.

Lana and Kennedy looked at one another with raised eyebrows and smiled.

'I was wondering if you'd like to go out sometime?' Drew asked.

'Um,' Chloe stammered. 'You're asking me out?'

Drew grinned. 'Yeah, it's been a while, but I think that's what that was.'

'Right. Well, I mean, yeah. Okay. Love to.'

Lana surpressed a giggle. She had never seen Chloe more at a loss for words. Or the cheeks of her face as red as they were right then.

'Great,' said Drew. 'How about tonight?'

'Oh,' said Chloe glancing at Kennedy and Lana. 'Well, uh, we kind of - '

'Cancelled our plans for tonight,' Kennedy interrupted her mid-flow. She smiled at Drew. 'She's all yours. I'm Kennedy, by the way.'

'Drew,' he said with a smile.

Lana lifted her hand to him and smiled. 'Lana.'

'Hey,' said Drew then looked back at Chloe. 'So, is it a date?'

Chloe was still looking at Kennedy, she opened her mouth to say something, then closed it with a frown. She looked back at Drake. 'Well, it would appear I'm available after all, so yeah, I guess it is.'

'That's great. Give me your address and I'll pick you up. Say seven?'

Chloe shook her head. 'That's okay. I can just meet you here.'

æ°No problem,' nodded Drew. 'Seven then?'

'It's a date,' smiled Chloe.

Drew gave her another smile then he turned and joined his friends at their table. Chloe spun round on her stool, her mouth dropping open.

'Oh, my god!' she mouthed. 'Can you believe that?'

'And it was only the other day you were complaining of the lack of romance in your life,' smiled Lana.

Chloe bit her bottom lip and grinned. 'He is a complete babe. And when did we cancel our plans for tonight?'

'We didn't,' Kennedy told her. 'Although with two down, maybe we should.'

'You can still go with Clark and Pete,' Lana told her.

'I don't really know them that well.'

'And going out with them tonight is the perfect way to resolve that.'

Kennedy shrugged. 'I guess.'

Chloe clapped her hands together. 'I think I'll head home.'

'You just got here,' Lana stated.

'Lana, I have less than six hours to decide what to wear for my big date tonight,' she said sliding down from the stool. 'I'll see you later at home. And Kennedy whatever you decide to do, have fun. I know I will,' she grinned, then she made for the door, giving Drake a flirtatious little wave as she passed.

Lana smiled and jammed her elbows on the counter, dropping her chin into her hands. 'I wish the perfect guy of my dreams would just walk in and sweep me off my feet.'

'There's no such thing. Nobody is ever perfect for somebody. And if they are, they're probably harboring some dark and terrible secret. Or they're from another planet.'

Lana laughed. 'That's very sceptical of you, Kennedy.'

'It's my middle name,' said Kennedy with a wry smile.

'It's not such a bad thing. Sometimes being too trusting can leave you wide-open to attack.'

'Don't I know it,' Kennedy murmured, taking a sip of cherry soda.

Lana straightened up, her brow knitting together. 'You okay?'

Kennedy sighed and nodded her head. She gave Lana a smile for good measure. 'Yeah,' she said. 'Just ignore me. Sometimes I have these little manic episodes.'

Lana laughed. 'Don't we all,' she said. 'Well, I better get back to work.'

'Yeah, don't let me keep you. You sure you couldn't do with an extra pair of hands?'

Lana smiled at her. 'No. I'll see you later. Maybe,' she added rolling her eyes.

Kennedy watched as Lana disappeared into the kitchen, the doors swinging shut behind her and she went back to sipping her soda. And her manic thoughts.


	15. Honey Drops

She had gone back to the mansion, Lex was still working in his office, so she had taken a wander into the library and up onto the balcony, stopping every now and then to tilt her head so she could see the names on the spines of the books. She thought this must be what it was like to be a lady of leisure and have absolutely nothing to do except worry over which of the silverware to bring out for dinner. She wasn't saying she was bored, it was just she had been so used to doing something every day and today was the first time since her arrival in Smallville, that she hadn't really had that much to do.

Spotting a book of poems, she pulled it out and opened up the cover. She loved poetry. Had done from a very early age. Poetry had been her mother's great passion too and after her death, Kennedy had inherited her cherished book of poems by Lord Byron. Both their favorite poet.

She sat down, cross-legged, on the floor and read through the first page. There were poems by W.B. Yeats, John Donne, Keats and of course, Byron. Some of them made Kennedy smile, some of them made her feel sad. Poetry could do that. It could lift your spirit high one moment and then break your heart in two the next.

She was so enthralled by what she was reading that she didn't hear Lex come into the library, it wasn't until she heard his cellphone ring that she looked up, leaning her body forward she peered through the slats and saw him standing by one of the mahogany book-cases on the floor below. She heard him talking and got to her feet. She felt as if she were intruding on his privacy, but from what she could make out, the phonecall wasn't anything she shouldn't be listening too. Then she realised he was talking to his father.

'Yes, Dad, four days,' he sighed impatiently. 'No. Fine. Okay, see you then.' Lex flipped the phone closed and pushed it back into his pocket.

Resting her forearms on the balcony rail, she watched him as he pulled out a book and began to study it. Once again she felt like she were intruding as she stood there watching him, but she hadn't seen much of him that day, only a brief encounter before she had left that morning and she realised she had actually missed him. She let out a sigh and shook her head. What was she thinking? Why was she allowing these ridiculous feelings to take over? More to the point, how had they happened so quickly? It wasn't like her. She watched as he flipped over a page and she found herself running her eyes over him. She liked what he was wearing today. Dark, expensive cut trousers and a grey silk shirt, top button undone just enough to see the smoothness of his chest. Her heart skipped a beat. She pretty much liked the rest of him too. Especially his eyes and his smile. And the quiet, lazy drawl of his voice. She groaned softly.

_Here we go again. Get a grip and forget about it. Besides, even if you could do something about it, he isn't interested._

He put the book back onto the shelf and was just about to turn and leave the library when he looked up and saw her, watching him. Waves of red hair cascading down around her shoulders. She was holding a book. He felt his heart give a knock as she smiled warmly at him.

'Hey, handsome,' she said saucily.

His smile deepened. Her remark hadn't gone unnoticed. And neither had the warm feeling that had spread through him when she had said it. Saucy or not. 'Juliet, may I ask what it is you're doing skulking around up there?'

'Juliet never skulked. She just waited for her Romeo. But _I_, was reading.' She held aloft the book in her hand.

'And what's netted our interest this time?' he asked slipping his hands into his trouser pockets.

'A book of poems.'

'You like poetry?'

'I love poetry.'

He nodded. 'Me too.'

'You like poetry?' she asked sounding surprised.

He smiled. 'Who do you think owns most of the books up there?'

'Your father?'

'My father's a big reader, but poetry isn't a particular passion of his. Why don't you read me a piece,' he suggested.

'Okay. If you want,' she shrugged and flicked back to a poem by Lord Byron. Her favorite. Then she cleared her throat and began to read. 'She walks in Beauty, like the night, Of cloudless climes and starry skies, And all that's best of dark and bright...'

She had a beautiful tone and an even more beautiful expression. She made Lex feel like closing his eyes and just letting it all go. He wasn't sure if it was the particular piece she had chosen, She Walks in Beauty by Lord Byron, one of his favorites by the late, great poet; or if it was because she was reading it.

Her hair was curtaining her face, framing it as she read, and Lex knew at that exact moment that he had never been as curious about another human being his entire life. He certainly knew that the feelings that were coursing through him, feelings that he had been experiencing since the moment he first laid eyes on her, he had never felt before. The sudden realisation hit him rather hard. The intensity of it all but floored him. Women had always interested him. There had even been a time when they had been a rather enjoyable pastime. But it seemed that the last couple of years, since his move to Smallville, he hadn't enjoyed the pastime as much as he once had in Metropolis. Business taking precedence. Women...they were beautiful and sometimes intelligent and intriguing creatures.

_But this one_, he mused as he looked at Kennedy, and felt his heart knock inside of his chest, _this one is like a breath of fresh air. She's like no other._

Kennedy was coming to the closing line of the poem. Lex interrupted her mid-flow and she stopped and looked at him as he recited the final line.

'...meet in her aspect and her eyes, Thus mellowed to that tender light, Which Heaven to gaudy day denies.'

They shared a slow smile. She bit her bottom lip and nodded her head. 'I love that poem.'

'It's beautiful,' he murmured in a low voice. But he wasn't entirely sure he meant the poem. 'I had to select a classic piece and write a paper as part of my English degree back in school. I chose that one,' he told her.

'You have an English degree?'

He smiled. 'Don't sound so surprised, Kennedy. I have a lot of things.' _Although not quite everything,_ he thought gazing up at her. 'I won a scholarship to Metropolis University based on that paper,' he added with a casual shrug.

'I don't know why I am surprised,' she said. 'You're obviously a very intelligent guy.'

'So many compliments,' he smiled, remembering her remark earlier too.

'Don't get used to it, tomorrow I could be back to my usual self,' she joked.

'I like your usual self,' he said. 'That includes the attitude and the clothes,' he added in a low voice that made Kennedy's skin tingle.

She was reminded of his comment the first night she had stayed. How he preferred his women to be feminine and wondered about the sudden change of heart. Or if he was just being nice to her. But still, the words hung in the air between them. Kennedy lowered her eyes from his gaze and then looked down at the book in her hands. She cleared her throat and tucked her hair behind her ear. She could still feel his eyes on her and feeling the need to break the odd and strangely intimate moment, she tapped her finger against a page in the book.

'I like this one too,' she said, 'Wasted Days.'

'Author unknown,' he added.

She lifted her head. He was smiling at her, making his ice-blue eyes glitter and her stomach flutter.

'Another of my favorites,' he explained. 'I'd like to hear you read it.'

She licked her lips and took a breath. She wasn't really sure what was happening, but she was sure of the way her heart was racing because of the way his eyes were on her. He slowly made his way towards the winding staircase as she read.

'Hand in hand you led me through a dream, And the world you built clasped me in it's pretty claws, And made me live a lie. I lived and dreamt and ate and drank that dream, And cared not as I watched the hum-drum world go by…'

She stopped to take a breath and suddenly realised how incredibly apt the poem was to how much her own life had changed of late. And how it was all down to Lex. She lifted her head and saw he was standing in the doorway, looking right at her. She knew he was thinking it, too.

'Go on,' he softly urged.

She licked her lips and carried on reading. 'But once distant clouds moved closer, Bringing with them whisperer's cautious whispers, With which to fill my ears. Oh, if I'd listened to their words, The cruel hand of scorn might not have slapped me down.'

She stopped and swallowed and even though she knew it was ridiculous, she felt the hot sting of tears prick at her eyes. She tried to push it down and go on.

'And would not - ' But she couldn't. She shook her head and slammed the book closed. She wished she'd never read the stupid thing. 'It's just a dumb poem,' she said unable to look at him.

Lex understood. She had seen her own life reflected in those melancholy words. And he felt his heart silently ache for her. He wondered what she had been through, what she had experienced and wished she would open up and tell him so he could help her. And maybe even lift the burden she so obviously carried. He took a step towards her and gently took the book from her hands. Still she didn't look at him.

'The last few lines,' he said softly, 'are particularly significant. The poem isn't complete without them. Infact, it's almost meaningless.'

She lifted her eyes and Lex had to stop himself from reaching out to gently brush away the tears he saw there. He didn't need to open up the book to read the closing lines. He knew that poem, along with countless others, by heart.

'...and would not now be making me work by hand, Or waste the ink in my pen, Or the months I have left, Before forgetting you and starting to live again.'

As he recited the final words he watched as a single tear rolled down her face. This time he did reach out and he gently brushed it away with his thumb.

'Don't look for tomorrow, Kennedy,' he said softly, 'let tomorrow find you. And never look back.'

He understood and she felt the ache of emotion tight in the back of her throat at the realisation.

'I just wish someone had told me how hard it was going to be,' she whispered.

'There has to be a winter to make way for spring,' he told her. 'It will get easier. I promise.' He paused. 'I know that we have an agreement, but I want you to know that I'm here. If ever you want to talk.'

She swallowed as she looked at him and nodded. 'That means a lot, Lex,' she said quietly. But she knew she wasn't quite ready to open up to anyone. She wasn't sure she ever would. She sniffed and wiped at her eyes with the heels of her hands. 'Oh, god,' she groaned, regaining her composure again. 'You must think I'm a real ass. I feel one.'

'No,' he said gently. 'That's the last thing I think when I look at you. You're one of the strongest people I've ever met. The fact that you're also incredibly beautiful is just an added bonus,' he said with a smile.

She blinked up at him, then her face broke out in a smile. 'Are you hitting on me?' she laughed gently.

'What would you say if I was?'

She eyed him, not really sure if he was just playing her or being serious. 'I'd say...actually, I don't know what I'd say,' she said with a slight frown.

'Have dinner with me tonight, Kennedy.'

'We have dinner together every night, Lex.'

'Not here,' he told her. 'Let me take you out somewhere.'

His sudden proposal stunned and surprised her. She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. She shook her head. 'Lex,' she finally said. 'I don't think that's a good idea.'

'I think it's a wonderful idea.'

'I don't think we - '

'Kennedy, it's a dinner invitation. Not a marriage proposal.' _Although that wouldn't be such a bad thing either._ He wondered where that had come from and quickly gave himself a mental shake. 'Kennedy - '

'Lex,' she said, taking a step back from him. 'I'm really grateful for everything you've done, but I don't think we should get involved.'

'It's just dinner.'

'Maybe. But I can't get involved with anyone,' she told him. 'I'm sorry.' Then she moved by him, went down the staircase and made for the library door. She opened it just as he spoke her name.

'Kennedy.'

She turned and looked up at him.

'The last thing I want is to offend you. So I apologise.'

'It doesn't matter,' she said quietly. Even though it did. Then she turned and left the room.

Lex watched her go and then dropped his eyes to the book in his hands. He took in a long breath and let it go again. For the first time in his life he hadn't gotten something that he wanted. And he didn't know what to do about it.

He glanced across at the door. But this, he knew, was so much more. This wasn't about not getting what he wanted or even about being turned down by a woman. Something which had never happened before. This...

...this was about being turned down by Kennedy.


End file.
